Ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, Team India’s preparation seems to be on track as they recently clinched the Asia Cup for the record-extending eighth time with a 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka.
The Men in Blue lost only one match in the continental tournament and that too when they decided to rest their key players.
In the Super 4 round, India thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan by 228 runs and then defeated Sri Lanka by 41 runs to secure a place in the final. As a result, their last Super 4 fixture against Bangladesh became a dead-rubber and they made wholesale changes to the playing XI, leading to a narrow 6-run loss.
On the other hand, Pakistan failed to qualify for the Asia Cup 2023 final despite a strong start to their campaign.
After defeating Nepal in the group stage, the Men in Green started the Super 4 round with a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh. However, they lost to India and Sri Lanka to be knocked out of the competition.
After watching the performances of India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup, former cricketer Kamran Akmal has issued a big warning to Babar Azam's men ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, slated to get underway on October 5 in India.
India and Pakistan are due to square off in the quadrennial event at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on October 14.
“Mohammad Shami is on the bench, he doesn't play in this XI. That shows you it's a complete bowling unit. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma are in form, Shubman Gill scored a century recently, so it looks a solid batting unit. I'll just say that for the match we have on October 14, Pakistan team need to plan really well to put them under pressure,” said Kamran on his official YouTube channel.
“If they play with the same mentality as the Asia Cup, and the way we played for the past three years, they're going to get thrashed badly. They need to prepare really well.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan are sweating over the fitness of their key bowlers ahead of the ODI World Cup. As per reports, Naseem Shah will miss the entire tournament due to a shoulder injury he sustained in the Super 4 clash against India.
Furthermore, Haris Rauf was also forced to miss the must-win clash against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup due to a little discomfort in his right flank.
