Players to watch

 Towhid Hridoy

(Bangladesh)

While many have come with a lot of promise and yet withered away too quickly, Towhid Hridoy has already garnered praise from all and sundry, who believe that the 2020 U-19 World Cup-winning star is here to stay. Still, very early in his international career, the 22-year-old has forged the reputation of being a cool head with a fearless heart. Just when Bangladesh's vaunted middle-order was struggling for runs, Hridoy eased into the side and assuaged the team management's headache with his consistent performances at No. 5, scoring 338 runs in nine ODIs at a staggering average of 48.28 and a healthy strike rate of 97.68 -- including a 92 on debut against Ireland in Sylhet. Hridoy's reputation only increased when he played a starring role in Jaffna Kings' Lanka Premier League campaign in the T20 format, earning plaudits from the franchise owners as well as fans -- something rare for a young Bangladeshi cricketer. The Bangladesh team management will be banking on Hridoy to continue to lend solidity to the middle order in the Asia Cup.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan)

Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz has played so many franchise tournaments around the world and has become such a mainstay for his nation's batting that it is hard to believe the right-handed batter is only 21 years old. One of the few consistent performers in the Afghan batting line-up, Gurbaz lends an assurance to his team with his dominating batting display up front. Having scored 127 on his ODI debut against Ireland a little over two years ago, the attacking batter has already had five ODI centuries to his name, including 151 against Pakistan in the second match of their recent bilateral series in Sri Lanka. Boasting a high average of 41.43 and a healthy strike rate of 85.93, Gurbaz is the perfect foil for the likes of Ibrahim Zadram and Rahmat Shah, who like to start a little slow in an effort to anchor the innings. Gurbaz's familiarity with Sri Lankan and Pakistani conditions means he will hardly need time to acclamatise with the nature of the wickets.

Naseem Shah

(Pakistan)

Often going under the radar because of the all-encompassing presence of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah has quietly carved out a reputation as Pakistan's gamechanger in his fledgling shorter format career. The 20-year-old mixes express pace with swing to cause havoc to opposition batters, his prowess in the 50-over game quite evident from his highly impressive statistics. In 10 matches so far, the pacer from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has bagged 25 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls against the Netherlands and New Zealand. He is yet to go wicketless in his ODI career, boasting an astounding average of 16.12 and a meagre strike rate of 4.63. What makes Naseem a coach's dream, though, is his ability to handle pressure and contribute important runs with the bat at the death -- his latest cameo against Afghanistan saw him hit Fazalhaq Farooqi for a boundary for the winning runs in the penultimate ball in Hambantota in the second ODI on Thursday, harkening back memories of his two sixes against the same bowler in an Asia Cup T20 fixture in Sharjah last year.

Shubman Gill

(India)

After spending a couple of years trying to find his feet in international cricket, Shubman Gill finally emerged as India's latest all-format batter with his elegant and aggressive batting at the top of the order last year. The 23-year-old has been so prolific over the last 18 months that he has made the selectors' job easier by becoming one of the first players to be on the list of players whenever the squad is announced in any format. Elegant and technically sound, Gill can shift gears almost at will depending on the match situation. This calendar year, the Punjab-born batter has scored 750 runs in 12 innings, including two centuries and a double century. The youngster has an incredible ODI career average of 62.47 in 27 matches with a strike rate of 104.06, something which has helped India get a kickstart to their innings even as Rohit Sharma or KL Rahul continue to struggle for consistency. This will be the first major tournament for Gill and an ideal platform to prove his worth.

Maheesh Theekshana

(Sri Lanka)

The latest in line of Sri Lanka's long list of mystery spinners, Maheesh Theekshana seems to have finally found his groove and is emerging from the shadows of his more illustrious spin partner, Wanindu Hasaranga. After having burst into the scene with a four-wicket haul on his debut against South Africa in 2021, Theekshana found it hard to assert himself as the go-to man for the Lankans in international cricket for a year-and-a-half. But the Colombo native seems to have turned a corner this year, playing a key role as the island nation navigated a tricky qualifying phase for the upcoming World Cup. Theekshana took 21 wickets in eight matches in that event, with the last five outings fetching him 18 wickets while staying miserly. He took three consecutive four-fors in the last three matches, against Zimbabwe, West Indies and the Netherlands. With a crucial Asia Cup coming up, Theekshana, together with Hasaranga, could likely form the best spin duo of the tournament.