The 2023 Asia Cup is all set to start with teams from six nations participating in the tournament that will take place in Pakistan and Sri Lanka between August 30 and September 17.
The Babar Azam-led Pakistan is placed in Group A alongside India and Nepal while Group B comprises Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
Sportstar‘s cricket correspondents Dhruva Prasad and V.S. Aravind dissect the six teams’ squads and how the tournament serves as a dress rehearsal for the Asian giants with the ODI World Cup 2023 around the corner.
The duo discuss the middle-order conundrum with almost all teams struggling to find a balance, especially India.
Wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul and specialist batsman Shreyas Iyer make a return to the squad after a long injury lay-off with the former still nursing a niggle.
Bangladesh has its share of injury woes as wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das was ruled out for the entire duration of the Asia Cup.
Sportstar weighs in on the factors why Pakistan is a strong title contender with its top-order in blazing form, armed with a potent fast bowling attack and how India can set up a hat-trick of clashes against Pakistan.
Co-host Sri Lanka, the defending champion who won the 2022 edition, announced its squad at the very last minute as the side was busy nursing injury concerns to its key players.
While the focus largely remains on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka the podcast also touches upon Afghanistan’s ascendancy in limited overs and Nepal’s entry into the big boys’ club.
Listen to the full episode for the complete team previews.
Asia Cup 2023 Full Squads:
Group A
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir (travelling reserve)
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumraj, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (travelling reserve)
Nepal: Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Bhim Sharki, Kushal Malla, Aarif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Pratish GC, Mousom Dhakal, Sundeep Jora, Kishore Mahato, Arjun Saud
Group B
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Anamul Haque Bijoy, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain Dhrubo, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Naim Sheikh, Shamim Hossain, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Tanzim Hasan Sakib
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Abdul Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Suliman Safi, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (c), Pathum Nissanaka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Janith Perera, Kusal Mendis (vc), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Matheesha Pathirana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushan Hemantha, Binura Fernando, Pramod Madushan
Comments
SHARE