Opinion: Will Pakistan beat India in Asia Cup? Virat Kohli and BCCI should answer

As India recovers from the shock of 4-1 defeat in the Test series against England and steps right into a high voltage clash against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, they will be missing out on a key ingredient - Virat Kohli. The Indian captain currently on a break had informed the BCCI earlier on his "unavailability".

As India begins their campaign "Virat-less", cricket fans will recall how Pakistan beat India the last time the two countries encountered each other. India was trounced by 180 runs in the ICC Champions Trophy final in London last year.

Fakhar Zaman had blitzed India with a match-winning 114 runs in that match. Virat Kohli failed to get going there falling for just 5 runs with Hardik Pandya top scoring for India with 76.

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An Indian captain who does not value an India-Pakistan encounter already goes down a step or two in the eyes of the subcontinental cricket fan, to top it all the fact that Virat is currently "injury free" and India has just come out of a disastrous England tour, the Indian captain could have changed his decision and played the Asia Cup, a surprise decision would have not only given a psychological edge to the Indian team but proved Kohli's credentials as a "leader".

The last time an Indian captain was caught "resting" during an India-Pakistan encounter has virtually never happened. The rivalry fuelled by several epic duels in which captains - Gavaskar, Imran, Ganguly, Dhoni have led from the front is etched in the hearts of India and Pakistan fans, alas Kohli will have one less encounter to reckon with and given the fact that Rohit Sharma will be leading India in the key clash makes it confusing for the Indian team which has been accustomed to Kohli's leadership.

India, Pakistan cricket matches quite tragically never takes place in the subcontinent anymore because of politics winning over sports however with Imran Khan as Pakistan's prime minister "cricket diplomacy" can be revived. BCCI has a big part to play in this, but fans remember Kohli missing out the historic Test against Afghanistan as well.

Rahane stood as the stand-in captain for Kohli back in June against Afghanistan at the Chinnaswamy stadium with BCCI once again dropping a crucial catch to make a statement with Virat missing out.

BCCI which runs cricket in the country has to sometimes respond to history. "Cricket diplomacy" started during Zia era as a way to defuse tensions between the two rivals has borne fruit in the past, this time, however, BCCI it seems has been playing on a different pitch not concerned about South Asian geopolitics.

Both India and Pakistan look towards their cricketers to show them the way, PM Imran Khan is the best example of that fact. India breathes and thinks cricket, some diehard cricket fans even believe cricket was invented by Indians (untrue of course). Virat Kohli and BCCI can play their part in restoring India-Pak encounters to its former glory, a dropped catch here could be another setback towards India-Pak relations.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)