New Delhi, Jul 19 (IANS): BCCI secretary Jay Shah penned an encouraging post for women in blue as they kick-start their title defense at the Asia Cup on Friday.

Seven-time champions Indian women will begin their campaign with a high-octane clash against arch-rivals Pakistan in the tournament opener at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium in Dambulla, Sri Lanka.

"As you step onto the field today to defend your title in the Women’s Asia Cup, know that the hopes and dreams of a nation are with you. Each one of you is not just playing a game - you are creating #HerStory in the making!" Shah posted on Instagram.

India have an 11-3 lead over Pakistan in women's T20I meetings. On the other hand, Pakistan entered the event after an inconsistent run of results in their bilateral commitments.

India won the last women's Asia Cup held in 2022 after defeating Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the final held at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Bangladesh.

India women's squad for Asia Cup T20: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Uma Chetry (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajana Sajeevan.