Despite Concerns About Indian Squad, Asia Cup 2023 Promises To Be a Spectacle

India's first match in Asia Cup 2023 is against Pakistan on 2 September.

Indian team be determined to win the 2023 Asia Cup.

(Photo: BCCI)

The successful landing of Chandrayaan 3 on the moon's south pole has every Indian in a state of euphoria and pride. The fabulous achievement of ISRO is just the boost that the Indian cricket team requires when they play in the 2023 Asia Cup.

The tournament will be a cricketing treat to savour for millions of cricket lovers in Asia. India play Pakistan in their very first match, and with Nepal being the third team in the group, both the Asian giants should easily qualify for the Super 4 stage. 

The interesting schedule of this competition will see India and Pakistan crossing paths on a maximum of three occasions – once in the group stage, and then potentially, in the Super 4 stage and final.

India have named their 17-member squad for the Asia Cup 2023, which also seems to be the core group of players who will be selected for the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. The issue that bothers one is the fitness of many of their key players. The strain of playing in the Asia Cup, especially, against Pakistan before the World Cup, could be very taxing on the body of the players recovering from injuries.

It was nice to see two pacers, Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna, back in Indian colours. Although Bumrah, who spearheads India’s pace attack, got some early wickets, he is still “a work in progress”, as mentioned by Sitanshu Kotak.

India Lucky To Have Bumrah and Krishna Unscathed

Watching Bumrah bowl in Ireland drew one’s attention to a major concern and that was his struggle to bowl the outswing delivery. 

There could be two reasons for it. Either he did not want to strain and twist his body excessively, or the concerning part would be the change in his bowling action and release. If the latter is true, then good batters should be able to read him quite comfortably. 

Similarly, Prasidh too looked like he needed many more deliveries to get his rhythm in place.

India is fortunate that both Bumrah and Prasidh did not get injured there, with Ireland being one of the last places to introduce a pace bowler recovering from a serious injury. The slippery conditions while fielding, bowling and especially bowling in the practice nets, could be very risky. India can count themselves lucky that both their pacers’ have come back home safely.

Much Will Hinge on Pandya, Rahul and Iyer’s Fitness

Hardik Pandya, as one saw in the West Indies series, is still not at his one hundred per cent while bowling. India needs a genuine fast-bowling all-rounder and he fits the bill perfectly with his hard-hitting batting skills as well. However, he will need to bowl a lot more overs, not only in the Asia Cup but also in the World Cup. One hopes that he can deliver on the big stage as, if he does not, India will find it difficult to replace him.

The automatic selection of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer is also a matter of concern. Both may seem to have recovered from their injuries, but they will need time to get back into top gear.

Will the National Flag Fly High?

There can be questions on the exclusion of both Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin, but as Sunil Gavaskar rightly said, fans have to now back the chosen side. However, the final submission of the World Cup squad is on 27 September, and hence, the Asia Cup could help the team figure out potential weaknesses.

The return of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj is a welcome sign. Along with Rahul, Iyer, Bumrah and Prasidh, India have nine reliable returnees to the centre stage against their arch-rival Pakistan, in the very first match of the Asia Cup. Expecting all of them to be at their peak might be too ambitious an ask, but should India perform well as a team, the national flag can fly high in Colombo on 17 September, as it is currently doing on the moon.