Just over 72 hours from now, the mother of all battles – India vs Pakistan – will take centerstage once again as the two teams begin their Asia Cup 2022 campaign at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. For the first time since last year’s T20 World Cup, India and Pakistan will do battle, and while Babar Azam and his team would look to pull off a repeat of what transpired at this very venue in October of last year, Rohit Sharma and Co. will be keen to settle the scores. But while all eyes are on the India vs Pakistan clash, one player that has become as important as the cricketing rivalry between the two sides is the returning Virat Kohli. The former India captain has been woefully out of form; however, expectations from him would be high given he is coming back after a three-week break. Kohli has a really good record against Pakistan and if India need to get the better of their arch-rivals, Virat’s contribution will play a big role. As expected from an India-Pakistan game, the mind games have begun. After Waqar Younis stirred the put with his ‘Relief for India’ tweet after Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi was ruled out of the Asia Cup, ex-allrounder Irfan Pathan gave a befitting reply. Similarly, Mohammad Azharuddin, the former Indian captain, has dropped a cryptic tweet, which, going by the text, seems to have been directed at Kohli.