Asia Cup team captains address media ahead of event

DUBAI: Captains of six teams, participating in the six-nation Asia Cup 2018 addressed media at the launching ceremony held here on Friday.

The six teams of the tournament have been divided into two groups. Group A consists of Pakistan, India and minnows Hong Kong while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are placed in Group B.

The top two sides in each stage will progress to the Super Four stage and the final will be played on September 28.

The Asia Cup 2018 will begin on Saturday as Bangladesh will play Sri Lanka at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The match will begin at 4:30pm Pakistan Standard Time (PST).

India have won the Asia Cup seven times while Sri Lanka are five-time champions. Pakistan have emerged as the Asian champions twice.

Pakistan will play their first match against Hong Kong on Sunday, September 16 before facing arch rivals India on Wednesday, September 19.

Squads:

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain) Haris Sohail, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Usman Shinwari, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik and Shaheeh Shah Afridi.

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-capt) , KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Khaleel Ahmed.

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (captain), Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Upul Tharanga, Shehan Jayasuriya, Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Dilruwan Perera, Amila Aponso, Kasun Rajitha, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Lasith Malinga and Niroshan Dickwella.

Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ariful Haque, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Nazmul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Hider Rony, Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque.

Hong Kong: Anshuman Rath (captain), Aizaz Khan, Babar Hayat, Cameron McAulsan, Christopher Carter, Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, Arshad Mohammad, Kinchit Shah, Nadeem Ahmed, Nizakat Khan, Raag Kapur, Scott McKechnie, Tanveer Ahmed, Tanwir Afzal, Waqas Khan and Aftab Hussain.

Afghanistan: Asghar Afghan (captain), Mohammad Shahzad, Ihsanullah Janat, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Najibullah Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Aftab Alam, Samiullah Shenwari, Munir Ahmad, Sayed Shirzad, Sharafuddin Ashraf and Yamin Ahmadzai.