Surya & Co brace for continental test

Afghanistan's rise as a cricketing powerhouse in Asia is a subplot but India, the T20 world champs, remain favourites

- AGENCIES @ Abu Dhabi

AS the captains' pre-tournament press conference got underway in Dubai on Tuesday, India's Suryakumar Yadav was sitting next to Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan in the centre. Pakistan's Salman Agha was sitting on Rashid's right with Sri Lanka's Charith Asalanka next to Yadav.

Coincidence or planned, Rashid and Yadav in the middle seemed symbolic. India, easily the strongest team from the continent, and Afghanistan, coming close to becoming the next-best, positioned together and in centre. In fact, a few weeks ago, Rashid was asked how he felt about Afghanistan becoming the second-strongest side in Asia with Agha on the stage. Even though Pakistan went on to win the tri-series, that, in essence, is the story of cricket in the continent over the last few years.

However, when India takes the field against United Arab Emirates (UAE) in their first game of the tournament on Wednesday, Yadav does not want to hear the "favourites" tag. When asked if it adds extra pressure, he quipped, "Who said that?," before adding, "I haven't heard it. But you have played in this format and you know how your preparations are. If your preparations are good, then you will be very confident when you take the field. We are playing T20Is as a team after a long time."