After impressing with his leadership skills in the absence of Virat Kohli, India's stand-in captain Rohit Sharma is excited and nervous as he prepares to lead the Men in Blue in his first major tournament. "I am excited and nervous as this is my first major assignment as India captain. We all know that the Asia Cup is a very important tournament for the region and India are playing in the UAE after a long time.

"It's natural that the Indian fans are eager to see us do well and win the trophy," Rohit said on the eve of India's opening clash against Hong Kong here. Rohit has an impressive record as captain, being one of the six captains to win the first four T20Is. In December 2017, Kohli was rested for the ODIs and T20Is against Sri Lanka to prepare for India's tour to South Africa, which began in the first week of January. As a result, Rohit was handed over the reins for the first time in his career.