India to rest Irfan Pathan for Asia Cup opening

Reuters - India will rest all rounder Irfan Pathan for their opening Asia Cup match against Hong Kong to allow him to recover from a side strain before the game against Pakistan on Thursday.

India coach Gary Kirsten said his team were not taking Wednesday's opener against Hong Kong lightly.

"We will take every opposition seriously, we will play proper cricket and will do the things that we need to do," he told reporters. "I want the guys to be focused on games and am looking forward to some big contribution from them."