Asia Cup 2022: Pakistan players to wear black armband to show solidarity for flood victims

Pakistan will face off with India in the second match of the Asia Cup 2022 on August 28, Sunday, at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. All Pakistan players will wear black armbands during the game to show solidarity and support for the flood victims across Pakistan.

The monsoon flooding has created mayhem across the nation, and as many as 119 people have died over the last 24 hours, as per figures released by Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority on Sunday. It is also learnt that four people from Balochistan, six from Gilgit Baltistan, 31 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 76 from Sindh had died on Saturday.

#Breaking: Pakistan cricket team will wear black arm bands in their first match of #AsiaCup vs India today to express their solidarity & support for the flood affectees across the Pakistan.#IndvPak

— Sawera Pasha (@sawerapasha) August 28, 2022

Over 33 million people affected due to heavy rainfall: Reports

As many as 110 districts were hit by the floods, 72 districts have been marked as calamity hit, and at least 33 million people in Pakistan have been affected due to rainfall, according to Geo News. Close to 950,000 homes have been destroyed, of which over 650,00o homes have been partially damaged.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan cricket team, led by Babar Azam, will face their arch-rivals for their Asia Cup 2022 opener. The two teams last faced each other in October 2021 during the T20 World Cup at the same venue and it was Babar’s side that won the game by a comprehensive margin of 10 wickets, chasing a target of 152.

The upcoming game between the two Asian giants will be their 10th meeting in T20Is and 15th overall in the competition. India has the upper hand in both categories, leading 7-2 in T20Is and 8-5 in Asia Cups. Pakistan have won the Asia Cup title two times, and India have won it seven times. 

Both teams have some notable absentees from their last meeting as Pakistan came into the tournament without their star fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who has been ruled out due to a right ligament knee injury, while the Men in Blue are without their speedster Jasprit Bumrah, ruled out due to a back injury.