With India and Pakistan playing each other for the first time in nearly a year, a joint broadcast of two leading news channels from both countries had panelists discussing whether bilateral ties will resume. Pakistan appear keen to resume, but India are held back due to political reasons. With the political climate simmering since November 2008, Osman Samiuddin wonders in The National if change is on the cards.

The history of contact between the two sides has the feel of an eating disorder; stuff yourselves for a while before forcing it all out and then starting all over again. Extended periods of stark drought have been followed by a few years of heady, greedy pillage. Much more sensible to keep it special, so that it is treasured and not causing the kind of ennui and overfill as happened between 2003/04 and 2007/08 (and a few times before).

Is there any good reason the Asia Cup is still with us, asks Osman Samiuddin, writing in the National.

The question about the Asia Cup is actually an ideological one: why is the Asia Cup? In the mid-70s, when the idea first appeared, borne from an official alliance of Asian teams, there was understandable sense behind it. Australia and England had long run cricket and India and Pakistan, swiftly emerging, wanted to change this. Tellingly for what was to come though, it wasn't until 1983 that they could get it together enough to form an Asian Cricket Council, and 1984 when the first tournament was held in Sharjah. But now? What is the purpose of a continental body in a sport played by so few countries? The Asian bloc is no more.

Now it is simply the India bloc; of the others, one board can't pay its players, another can't play at home and the last is still battling for relevance. Within there is no unity, just unequal, dysfunctional relationships; India and Pakistan are in the middle of another tiff, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh do essentially what the Indian board tells them, Bangladesh are dangling Pakistan around with the flimsy promises of a visit and Pakistan's negligence was nearly fatal for Sri Lanka in Lahore three years ago. This group is in need of a therapist not a tournament.

R Jagannathan proclaims on Firstpost that Indian fans do not deserve Sachin Tendulkar because they do not appreciate his genius. Tendulkar may be a God in India, but even God is made answerable when he has a bad series, Jagannathan laments. The questions being asked about Tendulkar's inclusion in the Asia Cup squad are a disrespect for a man who has been "an island of excellence in a sea of mediocrity."

Now that he hasn’t made that ton, they want to fling him out of the team unceremoniously. Nobody’s worried about that landmark anymore. People are now asking why isn’t he retiring? Why is he being left in the team when Sehwag has been shown the door? On Wednesday, all TV channels, including Arnab Goswami of the Spanish Inquisition, were asking the same questions. If success has many fathers, failure needs at least one mother — the mother of all scapegoats. Sachin is a handy one.

Despite important scores in the Commonwealth Bank Series, Gautam Gambhir has dropped down the pecking order in the bid to become India's next captain, with Virat Kohli being picked as vice-captain for the Asia Cup. Somehow, Amol Karhadkar writes in the Hindustan Times, he has also managed to include himself in the bracket of old, slow-moving players. The next few weeks are important for him to prove his mettle, Karhadkar writes.

Expectedly, Gambhir was the man in waiting in case Dhoni passed on the baton. However, the selectors sprang a surprise by ignoring Gambhir and appointing Virat as vice-captain. The timing of the announcement is crucial. If Gambhir lets this affect him and fails to fire with the bat over the next three weeks, it could have serious repercussions on India's campaign in the CB Series (if they make it to the finals) and Asia Cup. These three weeks will test his mettle as a professional cricketer.

G Unnikrishnan, writing in the Deccan Herald, questions the wisdom in hosting the Asia Cup in Dambulla, which is not even among the designated venues for the 2011 World Cup. Right from poor crowds, insufficient lighting to poor timing in hosting the competition, there appears to be, Unnikrishnan says, a deliberate apathy towards what was once a prestigious tournament.

At a time when the future of one-day cricket is under scrutiny, such matches that lack energy and edge can only add strength to the voice of the format’s doomsayers. The timing of the tournament too has gone horribly wrong. It’s tough to generate viewership for any other sporting event when the whole world is focused on the FIFA World Cup, currently under way in South Africa.

But then, proper planning has never the forte of the wise men ruling this sport. Another baffling point is that Dambulla will not stage a single World Cup match next year and the Sri Lanka Cricket is building two new stadiums at Pallekkele and Habbantota for the mega event.

It's a chance to make amends for the two Shoaibs - Akhtar and Malik - who've been overshadowed by negative press in the recent past. Both were surprise picks for the Asia Cup, and GS Vivek of the Indian Express writes on their time away from the game and their goals of "starting afresh."

Akhtar is down a yard in pace but his reputation as one of the quickest bowlers in the world is still intact. He still runs in hard but it remains to be seen if he can run through a batting lineup. In the last one year, Akhtar has undergone liposuction and also had a knee surgery. He later spent time with long-time mentor Aaqib Javed and trainer David Dwyer.