Ashwin wants this "unexpected hero" to surprise against Pakistan during Asia Cup

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 14 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin expressed hope that an unexpected hero comes for India during the Asia Cup clash against Pakistan in the form of left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who did not feature in the first clash against the UAE.

The clash between two arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, will take place on Sunday. Usually, a highly anticipated contest during Asia Cup/ICC events due to the absence of bilateral series between the two nations since 2013, has faced immense opposition this time from the political front. Fans alike are following the Pahalgam terror attacks in April and the Indian Armed Forces' consequent launch of Operation Sindoor against Pakistan-sponsored terror.

Arshdeep did not feature in the last match against the UAE, which India won by nine wickets.

The previous match against the UAE saw the left-arm pacer, who is one wicket from becoming the first Indian with 100 T20I wickets, sitting out, with only one specialist pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, getting assistance from all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube. While Axar Patel and Abhishek Sharma, two spin bowling all-rounders, were there to assist frontline spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy. A spin-heavy combination was preferred, and it paid off, with Kuldeep picking four wickets for seven runs.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said that since everyone has been playing well for India, there are not many players from India who can "surprise" with their performance against Pakistan.

"I dont think there are many options of someone who can surprise from India. All of them have performed well and the team is amazing top to bottom. An unexpected hero can be Tilak Varma. Because he has not had an opportunity to bat, and no one knows when it will come. But I hope that unexpected hero comes from the bench, that is Arshdeep Singh. Because everyone thinks he might not play," he said.

Ashwin also adviced India not to change their batting order because the wicket has "something in it".

"India will go hard. Abhishek Sharma will go hard. He would not take a step back. Pakistan with against spin with their bat have also not been amazing. If they go to attack a lot, then they will find themselves in trouble against this Indian team," he added.

India kick-started their campaign with a nine-wicket win over UAE, while Pakistan secured a 93-run win over Oman on Friday.

India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufyan Moqim. (ANI)

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