Circle News

"The battle for the Asia Cup resumes from Tuesday after a four-year hiatus with the best cricketers in the continent hoping to make their presence felt in a cricket tournament which has more to do with national pride than money."

The six-nation tournament was last staged in Sri Lanka in 2004 and political problems between India and Pakistan have restricted the number of Asia Cup tournaments to just eight since its inception in 1983-84.

On the sidelines of the tournament, Pakistan and India will also resume their traditional rivalry from the recent tri-series in Bangladesh where Pakistan clinched the title.

The real battle would be between Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka while Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates would have the opportunity to learn a few tricks of the trade from the superior opponents.

Bangladesh have always cut a sorry figure when they have rubbed shoulders with big teams barring a few exceptions, so they would be keen to shrug off that image and put up a spirited fight to create an upset.