The 2023 edition of Asia Cup is all set to get underway on August 30 featuring six teams – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Nepal.
This continental event provides a great opportunity for the Asian sides to finalize their playing combination ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
During the tournament, the high-voltage India versus Pakistan encounter will be played in Pallekele on September 2.
With less than 10 days to go for the marquee clash, former wicketkeeper-batter Rashid Latif has said that Pakistan boast a great blowing attack but no quality batters like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at the top.
“Out batters are a bit slow during the powerplay, and we don’t have power hitters for the death overs. While we are very good with the ball in the powerplay, the main issue is the phase between the 11th and the 40th over. Our spinners haven’t been able to take wickets in that period, be it Shadab Khan or Mohammad Nawaz. India, on the other hand, are very strong in the middle overs. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are capable of playing big knocks, and they play at a better strike rate than our top-order batters, which gives India an advantage,” Latif told Cricket Pakistan.
However, Latif backed Pakistan to beat the arch-rivals, citing that India’s middle-order is struggling at the moment.
While Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul will return to India's middle-order for the Asia Cup 2023 after a long injury lay-off, both of them are short of match practice and it remains to be seen how they perform in the continental tournament.
In their absence, the Men in Blue experimented with their team combination in the recently held ODI series against West Indies. The likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson were given opportunities in the middle-order but they failed to make it count.
“Pakistan have a great chance. They have a very potent fast bowling unit. However, it gets neutralised on turning pitches. When it comes to batting, the performances of Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, and Babar Azam have been very good. Then there are Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan, and Mohammad Nawaz. These guys seem to be automatic choices for Pakistan,” Latif said.
“When you look at India or the other teams, they are struggling. India are struggling with their middle order. I believe Pakistan have a wonderful chance, and they should win the tournament by giving others a tough fight,” he added.
