The 16th edition of the Asian Championship begins on Wednesday, August 30th where the joint host Pakistan takes on Nepal. The tournament promises to be an exciting one. The tournament will run from August 30 to September 17 with both Pakistan and Sri Lanka co-hosting.
With the event soon beginning, we look at the preparations of each team as they all gear up for the mega event; Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Here’s the Asia Cup 2023 Preview and predictions of which team could end where.
Asia Cup 2023 Preview: A look at each team
Group A
India:
The seven times winners of the Asian competition, India will be once again looking to seize the title as they also prepare for the home event. Led by Rohit Sharma, they managed only the Super 4 round. But that was the T20 format. India won the last ODI tournament in 2018, beating Bangladesh by three wickets.
No.3 in ODIs, India are coming off three series wins out of four since the start of 2023 with nine wins out of 12 games they have played. They are one of the favourites to win the tournament.
Pakistan:
For once, Pakistan are the favourites to win the 2023 edition. They have been a strong unit under Babar Azam since 2020 where they have lost just two ODI series out of nine. This also resulted them in becoming the No.1 in ODIs for the first time since ICC introduced official rankings when they defeated New Zealand in the 4th ODI in April.
While they may have a stellar record in One Dayers, they have fallen behind in the major events. In 2022, Pakistan were the runner-up. In the One Day format in 2018, they suffered a horrible run under Sarfaraz’s leadership. With the title last won in 2012, Pakistan are looking not to mess up this time and win their third title.
Nepal:
Winners of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2023, Nepal qualified on the back of high-quality cricket. The tournament, which acted as a qualifier for the Asia Cup, saw Nepal unbeaten throughout the competition. In addition, they played in the WC Qualifiers in June. But they failed to progress to the next round.
Ranked 15 in the world, Nepal will be a team to watch out for. They will play their first game against Pakistan in Multan in the tournament opener.
Also Read: Bowlers in the Asia Cup to Look Out For
Group B
Afghanistan:
The underdogs of the tournament. Afghanistan will be playing their fourth event. Not once they have crossed the group stage. Their best result has been the Super 4 round, where they are yet to win a game.
While they have a low record in the Asian event, Afghanistan are always looking threatening. On the wickets of Sri Lanka, their spinners will enjoy the challenge more. Over time they have got an excellent batting lineup and a couple of good pacers to back up the spin unit.
Bangladesh:
Bangladesh are the only team to play in the finals but are yet to win the title. Twice against India in 2016 and 2018 and once against Pakistan in 2012, Bangladesh have fallen short of getting their hands on the trophy.
The number 7th ODI team in the world have been in a mixed form in the 50-over format. Since the start of 2023, they played four series were they lost two and won two. The two series wins were both against Ireland, home and away. The lost series were against England and Afghanistan, losing both 2-1 at home.
Sri Lanka:
The defending champions and six-time winners, Sri Lanka recently dealt with a huge blow. Their two gun bowlers, Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga, could miss the 2023 tournament due to their injuries while Kusal Perera and Avishka Fernando have tested positive for COVID-19.
This will seriously affect their first-round games. Hasaranga played a vital role in their run to the title last year. In 2018, both Afghanistan and Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka to make it past the next round. Apart from Chameera, should the available players get fit in time, SL can give a real hard time to the rest of the opponents. They have won ten of the eleven games since this June and won the WC Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.
Also Read: Complete Asia Cup 2023 schedule revealed
Asia Cup 2023 Preview: Predictions
There is no doubt that from Group A, both India and Pakistan will make it through the group stage. The Nepal team is very talented but the chances of causing an upset to both Asian giants remain very low.
Group B, however, will be very interesting to see. In 2018, Afghanistan and Bangladesh swept past the Lankan side as they could not cross 160 while chasing 250-ish targets on both occasions. But in 2022 last year, it was Bangladesh who lost both of their games and were eliminated from the first round.
Looking at the recent forms and current injury issues, both Afghanistan and Bangladesh are predicted to go through to the Super 4s and join the Asian giants.
The Asia Cup 2023 will begin from August 30 to September 17.
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