Asia Cup 2023 to get underway on August 30 in Pakistan.
This edition of the tournament will be a 50-over affair and will be played in a hybrid model after Shah declared last year that India would not be travelling to Pakistan for the event. After many months of threats and deliberation and negotiations, it was decided that Pakistan will host 4 matches and the rest of the tournament including the final will be played in Sri Lanka.
Pakistan will host three group stage matches and one Super Four stage match.
The tournament will begin with a match between Pakistan and Nepal in Multan, Pakistan, on August 30. The much-awaited India-Pakistan clash will take place in Kandy, Sri Lanka, on September 2. India will face Nepal in the other group-stage match on September 4 at the same venue.
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Meanwhile, at the event, Ashraf inadvertently committed a comical blunder, as while speaking about the Pakistan team, he mistakenly called fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, a top 10 batter.
"There is strength in both our batting and bowling. If you talk about batting, our captain [Babar Azam] is the number one [ranked batter] in the world. If you talk about others, then Pakistan batters are among the top five [in the rankings]," Ashraf said during the ceremony.
"If you talk about Shaheen Shah Afridi, his name comes in the top 10 batters. So, the way the Pakistan team is playing, my best wishes are with them,” he added.
Left-arm pacer Afridi is currently the no.9 bowler in ODIs, while the likes of Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, and Imam Ul Haq are the Pakistan batters in the top ten rankings in ODIs.
(PCB inputs)