Pakistan captain Babar Azam emphasized the team’s focus on their opening game against Nepal in the Asia Cup 2023 rather than their arch-rivals India. He stated that no team should be taken lightly.
The six-nation Asia Cup, co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka, will commence in Multan, with three other matches scheduled in Lahore. India, on the other hand, will play all their matches in Sri Lanka, where nine matches, including the final on September 17, will take place.
Babar Azam expressed his disappointment over Pakistan not being able to host the entire tournament. However, he acknowledged the need to prepare for the schedule as decided.
Pakistan will travel to Sri Lanka to face India in Pallekele on September 2 before playing a Super Four match in Lahore. They will then return to Sri Lanka for the remaining matches. If everything goes according to plan, Pakistan will also face India in Colombo on September 10.
Babar Azam, while acknowledging the high intensity of Pakistan-India matches, downplayed the hype surrounding those games. He stated that their focus is currently on the match against Nepal and they will not take them lightly. He also emphasized the importance of the first match.
In Group A, India, Pakistan, and Nepal will compete, while defending champions Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan form Group B. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Four stages.
Pakistan is currently riding high after a 3-0 whitewash of Afghanistan in Sri Lanka, which helped them climb to the top of the one-day international rankings.
Nepal qualified for the Asia Cup by winning the Asian Cricket Council Premier Cup at home in April, defeating Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Captain Rohit Paudel expressed their enthusiasm for the tournament and their desire to deliver competitive games against Pakistan and India. He stated that Nepal deserves the opportunity to participate in the Asia Cup and it will be a great learning experience for them.
Nepal will rely on their quality spinner Sandeep Lamichhane to pose challenges to Pakistan’s batting lineup, which includes the world’s top-ranked batter Babar Azam, number three Imam-ul-Haq, and number five Fakhar Zaman. Their relatively inexperienced batting will also face a tough test against Pakistan’s top pace trio of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah.