Pakistan
Nepal
The much-awaited Asia Cup 2023 will be starting from 30th August and the first fixture is scheduled to take place between Pakistan and Nepal. Both teams are on different tangents in international cricket but cricket in the Asian sub-continent is always full of surprises.
Pakistan is currently the number 1 ranked team in ICC charts and will be confident enough to start their campaign on a positive note.
Nepal is playing their first ever Asia Cup tournament but the team has shown some promising future with some talented players in the squad. The top bookmakers in India have Asia Cup 2023 odds with them.
PakistanNepalMen in Green are coming to play the Asia Cup after winning the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan by 3-0. It was a dominating performance by the team and the series win has helped Pakistan to reach the top spot in the ODI rankings. Pakistan’s batting has a good depth this time with skipper Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, and Fakhar Zaman at the top of their forms.
The depth goes down when the pressure comes on the middle order where the team has its major weakness. On the bowling front, Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, and Faheem Ashraf are the key players.
All the players in the Pakistan camp are fit and will be available to start the first match.
Predicted Lineup: Babar Azam (captain), Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmad, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr., Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.
Nepal is playing their first Asia Cup and they will be overwhelmed by this opportunity. Unfortunately, the team failed to qualify for the upcoming ODI World Cup but they will be motivated to leave a huge mark in the upcoming Asia Cup.
Kushal Bhurtel, Skipper Rohit Paudel, and Aasif Sheikh will be starting the match for the team. Bhim Sarki and Kushal Malla will be the key players in the middle order. Sandeep Lamichhane and Gulshan Jha will be the primary bowlers with Kushal Bhurtel acting as the primary allrounder.
Skipper Rohit Paudel will have the availability of the best possible playing XI for the first match.
Predicted Lineup: Rohit Paudel ©, Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Kushal Malla, Bhim Sharki, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulshan Jha, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Sompal Kami
Pakistan has an upper hand without a doubt because of their experience and the quality of players. Nepal is a new team to international cricket and they won’t be able to perform at their best in front of Pakistan’s deadly combination of players. We predict a win for Pakistan in the first match.
