The two countries will clash in Group A of the tournament at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium, where the winner will qualify for the 2018 Hockey World Cup.

The competition gets underway tomorrow and runs through to October 22.

Matches between the countries have often been feisty affairs, particularly at the 2014 Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar in India, where Pakistan upset their opponents with overly-wild celebrations after earning victory over the hosts.

Tensions have since escalated off the field after a derogatory post from International Hockey Federation (FIH) President Narinder Batra, made on the day India played Pakistan at both the International Cricket Council Champions Trophy and the Hockey World League semi-final in London.

The former Hockey India President labelled Kashmiri separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq as a "Pakistani sucker" and a "pig", before claiming he should return to Pakistan after he congratulated the country for beating Batra's home nation in the Champions Trophy final.

India and Pakistan are joined in Group A by Japan and hosts Bangladesh.

Group B features Malaysia, South Korea, China and Oman.

India, Malaysia and Pakistan have already secured a place at the 2018 World Cup in Bhubaneswar.

The Asia Cup will take place at the same time as the Oceania Cup in Sydney, which starts tomorrow and concludes on Sunday (October 15).

Three teams - hosts Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea - have entered the men's and women's tournaments at the Olympic Park Hockey Centre.

The winner of the competition will seal a spot at the 2018 Hockey World Cup.