Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly shared his thoughts on much-awaited India vs Pakistan clash of the Asia Cup 2023. According to the former BCCI president, no team will start as favourites against each other. He stated that both teams are equally strong and therefore the team who performs better will win the game.
Talking about the game, Pakistan has a strong set of pace bowlers in their setup and especially Shaheen Shah Afridi has posed a huge threat to the Indian team in the recent past. The Indian team on the other hand had outplayed Pakistan when both teams played against each other in the T20 World Cup. It was Virat Kohli who single-handedly pulled off the heist and decimated Pakistan’s bowling attack.
“It would be tough for me to name the favourite to win the match. Both the teams are really good. Pakistan have a good team, India too are really solid. Whoever plays well will win, I don’t think there’s anyone favourite as such. Whoever plays well will emerge victorious,” Ganguly stated while talking to the press in Kolkata.
The Men in Blue had a torrid run in the recently passed series against West Indies as they lost the T20I series. Following that, wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was excluded from the Asia Cup squad announced by the BCCI. “You can only have three spinners and I think they have done the right thing by picking Axar (Patel), he can bat,” Ganguly mentioned.
The 2023 edition of the Asia Cup is scheduled to take place on August 30, 2023, and the final match will be played on September 17, 2023. Pakistan and Sri Lanka will jointly host the Asia Cup. BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar said that the squad for the World Cup will be selected from the 18 members who will go to Sri Lanka.
“It is really a no-brainer. We have picked 18 guys. So it will be in and around these guys. We have a few important players coming back from injuries. Hopefully, all goes well with them. Fortunately, we have some more time. September 5 is the deadline. We have a short camp and a couple of games before picking the squad. It will obviously be around these guys,” Agarkar said.