The 2023 Asia Cup is less than a week away from commencement and the six teams participating in the tournament are undergoing intense preparations to secure continental supremacy. While Indian players, who are part of the Asia Cup squad, have assembled in Bengaluru for a six-day camp before the team leaves for Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan are locked in a high-drama three-match ODI series.
While India is the most successful team in Asia Cup history, the Men in Blue's job of extending their record is going to be filled with challenges. Defending champions Sri Lanka, a well-rounded Pakistan side and an unpredictable Afghanistan and Bangladesh teams would look to reign on India's parade.
Former India captain and BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly has found it hard to pick a favourite for the upcoming competition. Ganguly affirmed that all the teams have a fair shot at victory and this, picking a favourite is difficult.
"Telling favourite is difficult in the Asia Cup. Anyone can win. Both the teams are good. Pakistan is also a good side. India is obviously a good team," Ganguly told India Today.
Commenting on Jasprit Bumrah's return to ODI cricket, Ganguly is excited to watch how the right-arm pacer fairs in the 50-over format after enjoying a successful comeback to T20Is.
"Bumrah has done well in Ireland. He had played T20. Now have to play ODI. Have to bowl 10 overs in a match. So let's see," Ganguly added.
India squad for Asia Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna
Reserve player: Sanju Samson.
Asia Cup 2023: Complete schedule
Aug 30 Pak vs Nep - Multan, Pakistan
Aug 31 Ban vs SL - Kandy, Sri Lanka
Sept 2 Ind vs Pak - Kandy, Sri Lanka
Sept 3 Ban vs AFG - Lahore, Pakistan
Sept 4 Ind vs Nep - Kandy, Sri Lanka
Sept 5 SL vs AFG - Lahore, Pakistan
SUPER 4s
Sept 6 A1 Vs B2 - Lahore, Pakistan
Sept 9 B1 vs B2 - Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sept 10 A1 vs A2 - Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sept 12 A2 vs B1 - Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sept 14 A1 vs B1 - Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sept 15 A2 vs B2 - Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sept 17 Final - Colombo, Sri Lanka
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