Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has highlighted India as well as Pakistan as strong contenders and ‘favourites’ for the Asia Cup 2023. Despite Sri Lanka being champions in the T20 format last time around, the focus is on India and Pakistan at the forefront.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said that Pakistan’s success hinges on the consistent performances of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan in the coming months. His form could potentially pose significant challenges to opponents in the Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup.
“If Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan perform consistently well with the bat in the middle order, then Pakistan are going to be a formidable team in this Asia Cup and World Cup. There will be some losers. Pakistan is an extraordinary team,” Ashwin said.
Ashwin also explained why Pakistan is the favorite for the Asia Cup this year along with the Indian team.
“It all depends on the depth of their team. Pakistan has always produced exceptional cricketers. Because of tape ball cricket, they have always had fast bowlers. Their batting has been special in the late 90s and early 2000s . But their performances in the last 5-6 years in different leagues have been a major reason for their re-emergence. They have the PSL. They were at least 60-70 Pakistani players in the recent BBL draft,” he added. .
The Asia Cup 2023 begins today between Pakistan and Nepal in a Group-A match at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Pakistan are entering the Asia Cup on a high and have climbed to the top of the ICC ODI Team Rankings after their 3-0 win over Afghanistan in Sri Lanka.
