Key Points

Before Pakistan's Asia Cup opener, white-ball head coach Mike Hesson dubbed Nawaz as the "best spinner in the world". His remarks came in the wake of Nawaz being adjudged Player of the Series during Pakistan's T20I Tri-Series triumph over Afghanistan and the UAE, with 10 wickets in five matches at an average of 11.70, including a five-wicket haul in the final.

Doeschate emphasised the priceless role the spinners will play across the tournament, considering the nature of the UAE's surface. While flaunting India's spin prowess, which consists of Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, the Dutchman remains undaunted about the tag Pakistan puts on its players.

"I think spin is going to be very important in this competition. If anything, I don't think it's gripped as much as we anticipated, and certainly not like it did earlier in the year when we were here. But spin in general has become a very important part of T20 cricket, and both teams have a lot of spin on offer. And we certainly know how we feel about Varun, Axar and Kuldeep. So everyone's entitled to their opinion, and they can rank their players wherever they wish," Doeschate said while speaking to reporters in the pre-match press conference on Saturday.

Pakistan have lined up without its prolific batting pair, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, in the tournament. Babar and Rizwan, the most successful opening pair for Pakistan but often lampooned for their unhurried approach in the bustling T20I format, have been axed from the setup since last December. After Mike Hesson assumed the role of the white-ball head coach, speculations had been rife about the stalwart duo's return.

Doeschate admitted the new route that Pakistan are now treading on and the different set of challenges that come along with it. Despite the tricky affair, the assistant coach assured that they have plans and strategies in place to nullify Pakistan's threat.

"I think Pakistan have decided to change the direction of how they play their cricket, and that obviously affects the way they're set up in terms of personnel. It's pretty obvious you're referring to quality cricketers, but I think Pakistan want to go a different way. Of course, we've done lots of homework on the guys they brought in, fairly inexperienced guys in the grand scheme of things, but probably more dangerous in terms of how they want to play, and we've got our plans and our strategies for attacking that tomorrow," he said.

India have been deemed as the favourites on paper to trounce their arch-rival in a contest that is devoid of any hype. While acknowledging India's prowess, Doeschate affirmed that they are under "no illusion" about the task that lies ahead of them.

"Yeah, I mean, that short-term record is pretty incredible, and we've been very consistent in how we've played. Obviously, cricket at this level is about how you execute on the day. But yeah, I've been totally honest, and looking at the recent form and how the teams have played, I would say India do start as favourites tomorrow. We'll be focused on the 120 balls with the bat and 120 balls in the bowl, and the team that is more consistent over those 240 balls will be better," he said.

"So we're under no illusion as to the task ahead, and a big part of what we're trying to do and looking forward is to stay grounded and just focus on getting better, the individuals getting better every day. So form counts for very little when you come to competitions, regional competitions like this," he added.

India squad for Asia Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

Pakistan squad for Asia Cup: Salman Ali Agha (C), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufyan Moqim.

- ANI