Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar reckons that the odds of winning the Asia Cup 2018 are in favor of Pakistan. In his column for Times of India, he mentioned that Pakistan has the experience of playing more cricket than any other team in the UAE, something that gives them the edge over the other five teams.
Pakistan has won the Asia Cup two times, in 2000 and 2012, and Gavaskar reckons that this time around, they can lift the title for the third time to give their newly-crowned Prime Minister Imran Khan a fitting gift on the occasion.
Former Indian skipper wrote, “Pakistan, the ICC Champions Trophy winners, start as favorites because not only have they got a well-balanced team, but they will be playing on their ‘home’ ground. The familiarity with the pitches and the weather conditions is always a plus and Pakistan will want to add the Asia Cup to their trophy cabinet. With their former charismatic captain as their country’s Prime Minister now, they will undoubtedly be inspired to give him the Asia Cup as a gift.”
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With the World Cup is scheduled to be taking place in less than a year, management’s decision to organize Asia Cup in 50-over format is a good move. Usually conducted in the one-day format, the tournament took place in the T20 format in 2016 keeping in mind the World T20 was going to take place soon after that. Hence, Gavaskar mentioned that it makes sense that the Asia Cup was switched back to its original format considering the World Cup starts in June next year in England.
Describing the same, the batting legend wrote, “The tournament assumes great importance as it gives the teams participating a good warm-up for the ICC World Cup next year. The more matches the teams play, the better their preparation. They will also get a fair idea of the areas they need to tighten up on before the World Cup. They will know who the players are, who can take the pressure and who doesn’t quite have that fire in the belly to take his team forward.”
This Asia Cup will see some big names missing though. While the Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been rested with a motive of managing his workload judiciously, Sri Lanka will also be missing their regular skipper Dinesh Chandimal due to a finger injury he sustained during a domestic T20 game last week. Bangladesh is surrounded by concerns of their own, with uncertainty hovering over all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan’s fitness. He injured his little finger earlier in January this year which forced him out of home Tests and T20Is against Sri Lanka and the Pakistan Super League.
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Talking about the same, Gavaskar said, “Sri Lankan team will be handicapped with the absence of skipper Dinesh Chandimal. Bangladesh also has uncertainty surrounding Shakib. Both teams, though, have players with experience as well as talented youngsters to make a difference. Where they are likely to be a bit short is in their bowling, for on the dry pitches, the ball won’t do much.”
The two teams will face each other later today in the Asia Cup opener.
