The Afghanistan Cricket Board said the final 15-member squad will be announced at the end of a week-long preparatory camp in Greater Noida.
Defeat will severely dent both the teams' dreams of a semi-final berth in the tournament, as South Africa and Australia have already notched two points.
Australia's historic pedigree in cricket's biggest tournaments will count for nothing when they run into an Afghanistan side that is fast cementing its place in the game's top table in the Champions Trophy match in Lahore on Friday.
Debutants Afghanistan will aim to continue their impressive rise in white-ball cricket, while South Africa will once again attempt to shed the 'chokers' tag when the two sides kick-off their Champions Trophy campaign in Karachi on Friday.
Afghanistan may be faced with some off-field distractions in Pakistan with Group B rivals England and South Africa being urged to boycott their matches.
Disappointed at being ignored from the list of probables for the Asia Cup and the subsequent tour of England, out-of-favour Pakistan all-rounder Rana Naved has questioned the selectors decision to include other banned players Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik in the 35-man chart.
'Everyone is calling us from our village and congratulating us on Amir's performance in the final'
Former South African skipper Shaun Pollock on Wednesday said if poor performance was criteria for handing out bans to Pakistani cricketers then the punishment is a "bit harsh".
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) put an end to the international careers of former captains Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan besides imposing a one-year ban on Shoaib Malik in the wake of the team's disastrous tour of Australia.
Former England captain Mike Gatting says they deserve to be ranked number two in the world.
Anu Ranjan and Shashi Ranjan organised an ITA (Indian Television Academy) Creators Walk at a five star hotel in Mumbai.
A civilian was killed in a firing incident at Ganowpora, while two others sustained injuries, a police official said.
The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
The International Cricket Council released the provisional squads of the 12 teams for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Friday. However, co-hosts Australia and minnows Ireland decided against releasing the provisional list although they submitted 30 names to the parent body within the stipulated deadline.
Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmdullah finished as the MVP in the recently-concluded Asia Cup T20 tournament ahead of compatriot Sabbir Rahman, who was named as the man of the series. Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present the latest edition of the MVP rankings.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
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