Asia Cup 2023: Top Five Most In-Form Players Heading Into Continental Showpiece
New Delhi: The 16th edition of the Asia Cup is all set to play from August 30 to September 17. The continental showpiece will be jointly hosted by Pakistan and Nepal. The tournament opener will be played between Pakistan and Nepal at Multan Cricket Stadium, Pakistan. The highly rated tournament will have six nations, i.e., India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh, competing against each other to win the trophy.
The multi-nation tournament will also serve as the dress rehearsal for the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023, which is to be played in India from October 5. Barring Nepal, all five other nations will compete in the marquee tournament, and with the playing conditions being quite similar to those in India, it should help teams prepare well ahead of the prestigious tournament.
While India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka will start the tournament as the favourites, you can never count out the likes of Bangladesh and Afghanistan, especially given their record in subcontinental conditions. Ahead of the tournament opener, let’s take a look at the top five inform players who will be heading into the Asia Cup 2023.
1)Babar Azam: The Pakistan captain is currently the No. 1 ODI batter in the ICC Men’s ODI Rankings. It would be no surprise to see the champion right-hander add some more memorable knocks and lead his side to winning the trophy. The 28-year-old scored two half-centuries in his two most recent 50-over contests. Babar scored 53 and 60 runs against Afghanistan in their three-game series, and this could help him deliver at the Asia Cup for his side.
2) Jasprit Bumrah: The Indian cricket team is happy to see the quick pacer returning to the national side after almost a year. Bumrah’s presence will surely boost the Men in Blue’s pace attack, as the right-arm pacer is one of the deadliest seamers in the world. Bumrah collected consecutive two-wicket hauls in his long-awaited return from injury in the recent T20I series against Ireland in Dublin, and more is expected of the 29-year-old in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. While Bumrah is among the best exponents of new-ball bowling in the world, his impact during the middle overs and at the death makes him an extremely valuable commodity for India skipper Rohit Sharma.
3) Gulshan Jha: The 17-year-old from Nepal has shown great potential with both bat and ball during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier event, and he should not be underestimated heading into this major tournament. His natural game has been to attack bowlers since the start, and Gulshan has also scored a quickfire fifty against Ireland at the World Cup Qualifier. This shows that the left-hander is capable of scoring plenty of lower-order runs.
4) Taskin Ahmed: With fellow quick Ebadot Hossain ruled out of the tournament due to injury, Bangladesh will be looking to Taskin Ahmed to carry the bulk of their fast-bowling load. Taskin bowled consistently during Bangladesh’s recent tour of Afghanistan and the 28-year-old collected five wickets in his two most recent appearances in franchise cricket in Zimbabwe.
5) Rashid Khan: The Afghanistan sensation is currently ranked No. 4 in the latest ICC men’s bowling rankings and is rated as one of the greatest leg-spinners in the white-ball format. Given the pitches in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which mainly suit spinners, Rashid will carry his team’s fortunes to win this year’s Asia Cup for Afghanistan. With the bat, Rashid can also provide some handy runs in the lower order, which will help his side.