The focus will obviously be on India and Pakistan as the Asia Cup — this time in the 50-over format — gets underway on Wednesday with Babar Azam and Co. taking on minnows and first-timers Nepal in the tournament opener in Multan.

On paper, six teams will be battling for continental supremacy, with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan being the other sides. But taking recent performances into account, barring India and Pakistan, the other teams have neither been consistent enough nor do they appear to be having the wherewithal required to challenge the two heavyweights.

That, in spite of both India and Pakistan not being absolutely spotless either.

India’s No.4 slot and the kind of muddle their middle order is in are their areas of concern. Pakistan, comparatively, have a more or less set team, having moved up to No.1 in the ODI rankings after their recent series sweep over Afghanistan.

Technically the hosts of the tournament, Pakistan have very few matches at home as India’s refusal to play there made Sri Lanka the tournament’s co-hosts.

After Saturday’s high-octane clash against arch-rivals India, Pakistan, assuming they will qualify for the Super Four stage (alongside India) from group A, will get to play just one game at home thereafter (in Lahore on September 6).

Pakistan may feel unfortunate about that part, but Sri Lankan conditions aren’t alien to them either. If Babar and his teammates can fix the inconsistencies in their batting and the tendency to self-destruct, a lot of their problems could be sorted.

Sri Lanka, too, have a pretty impressive record in the Asia Cup, but the 2022 champions have been bogged down by injuries, especially to their frontline bowlers.

Their spin mainstay in white-ball cricket, Wanindu Hasaranga, is ruled out with a thigh strain along with quicks Dilshan Madushanka (torn oblique muscle), Dushmantha Chameera (shoulder injury) and Lahiru Kumara (side strain).

Such is the situation with Sri Lanka that they could announce their squad on Tuesday evening, just hours before the start of the competition. With Sri Lanka in such crisis, this Asia Cup could well witness an India-Pakistan final for the first time in the history of the competition. Unless of course, the Shakib Al Hasan-led Bangladesh and the Afghans spring a surprise or two.