ASHFAQ-UL-ALAM

The weight of captaincy in any sport compounds exponentially under the bright lights of a major tournament. On top of that, if the captain has not experienced the pressure of leading in that event before, it should put them at an even bigger disadvantage.

But this logical conclusion doesn’t hold water in the Men’s Asia Cup, as in nine out of its 16 editions so far, a captain leading for the first time in the competition has lifted the trophy.

Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene, Misbah-ul-Haq, Angelo Mathews, Rohit Sharma and Dasun Shanaka are captains who have triumphed on their first attempt in the past.

And while there is no way to predict which skipper will triumph in the 17th edition, set to begin in the UAE on September 9, another name is sure to get added to this list, as in this year’s Asia Cup, all eight captains are first-timers.

Different stakes

For the first time in the competition’s history, eight teams -- Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Oman and the UAE -- are competing in a single edition.

Captains of the respective sides will come into the event with certain goals -- some personal and others collective.

For skippers of Associate sides -- Yasim Murtaza (Hong Kong), Jatinder Singh (Oman), and Muhammad Waseem (UAE) -- causing an upset or two would constitute a successful campaign and qualifying for Super Four would be historic.

But for the men leading the five full-member teams, the stakes would be different.

Aiming for new heights

After 2016 and 2022, Asia Cup is set to be held in the T20 format for the third time.

Bangladesh had competed in both previous instances, and in 2016 had even reached the final. But in both editions, Litton Das, the current captain of the Tigers, was absent from the squad.

The 30-year-old is coming into the tournament with runs in his kitty, having made 145 runs in the three-match T20I series against the Netherlands this month. His team is also enjoying a successful streak with three consecutive T20I series wins against Sri Lanka (2-1), Pakistan (2-1) and the Netherlands (2-0).

For Litton, the ultimate goal would be to take three-time runners-up Bangladesh one step further and, on a personal note, prove his quality on the global stage.

But first, the right-hander would want to survive the perilous Group B, which, alongside Sri Lanka and Hong Kong, includes the dangerous Afghanistan led by Rashid Khan.

Just last year, the maverick wrist-spinner led the Afghans to the semifinals of the ICC T20 World Cup for the first time.

The familiarity of the conditions in the UAE will further aid Rashid and his teammates, who will dare to dream of the main prize this time.

Rebuild and redemption

Salman Ali Agha, who was handed the captaincy in just his third T20I, is leading a Pakistan side that is trying to adopt a bold new style.

His time at the hot seat has been challenging, with series defeats to New Zealand and Bangladesh away, but there were also glimmers of hope in series wins against Bangladesh at home and West Indies in the Caribbean islands.

However, Salman’s career strike rate of just 118.32 is already drawing criticism as it goes against the presumed direction head coach Mike Hesson is trying to take the team.

Another captain whose form has been questionable heading into the tournament is Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka -- who has failed to get into the double-figure mark in six out of his last 10 innings.

He leads a team with several T20 stars and will aim to uphold their reputation of always turning up in big events by bringing home their seventh Asia Cup title.

The weight of the crown

India captain Suryakumar Yadav is leading the strongest squad in the tournament, who are the odds-on favourites to retain the title.

Although India’s nonchalant buildup to the event -- not playing any T20Is in the lead-up -- indicates that the Asia Cup is more of a preparatory tournament for them ahead of next year’s ICC T20 World Cup, it would be foolish to assume there are no stakes involved for Surya.

With Test captain Shubman Gill being touted as a future all-format skipper for India, the pressure will be on him to deliver India’s ninth Asia Cup trophy or risk losing his chance to lead the national side in next year’s ICC T20 World Cup.