It's game time as winless Hong Kong faces a hurting Afghanistan to start the Asia Cup

It's game time as winless Hong Kong faces a hurting Afghanistan to start the Asia Cup

Asia Cup 2025: The 2025 Asia Cup begins with Afghanistan facing Hong Kong in the tournament opener at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, September 9. Skipper Rashid Khan, along with Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ahmad, and Fazalhaq Farooqi, gives Afghanistan one of the most balanced bowling units in the tournament.

The Asia Cup is one of the biggest international cricket tournaments outside of ICC events, drawing huge attention from fans. Even though the opening match between Afghanistan and Hong Kong might not seem exciting to some, the tournament’s tight format keeps things fast-paced and competitive. Unfortunately for Hong Kong, they’ve landed in a tough group alongside three strong teams Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka all serious contenders for the title.

Hong Kong have played 16 T20Is this year, but none against teams as strong as the ones they’ll face in this group. To prepare, they arrived in the UAE nearly three weeks early and played four warm-up matches two against Oman and two against local club teams. They won one and lost one against each opponent, which shows they’re still developing and will face a big challenge against Afghanistan, which reached the semi-finals of the last T20 World Cup.

Interestingly, this might be a good time for Hong Kong to face Afghanistan. Just two days ago, Afghanistan lost badly to Pakistan in the final of a tri-series. Their batters struggled against spin on a turning pitch in Sharjah, and the quick turnaround between matches could leave them mentally and physically drained. That gives Hong Kong a small window of opportunity to surprise them in Abu Dhabi.

Still, the chances of an upset are slim. Afghanistan are very strong in these conditions and has already beaten Pakistan once and the UAE twice recently. Their bowling attack is balanced and dangerous, and their batting lineup mixes power hitters with technically sound players. Even when they rested half their team in a match against the UAE, they still won comfortably. The short format and timing might give Hong Kong some hope, but if they do manage to win, it would go down as one of the biggest shocks in Asia Cup history.

Afghanistan (possible): Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan (C), Mohammad Nabi, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Hong Kong (possible): Anshuman Rath, Zeeshan Ali (wk), Babar Hayat, Nizakat Khan, Matthew Coetzee, Yasim Murtaza (c), Ehsan Khan, Aizaz Khan, Ateeq Iqbal, Nasrulla Rana, Ayush Shukla.