Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has expressed that there won’t be any clear favorites when India, led by Rohit Sharma, faces Babar Azam’s Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. Ganguly believes that both teams are evenly matched and the side that performs better on September 2 will come out on top.

Sourav Ganguly pointed out the recent challenges India has faced against Pakistan, particularly mentioning the struggles of India’s top-order batsmen against Pakistani pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi. However, he also highlighted that in the last encounter between the two teams during the T20 World Cup, India emerged victorious thanks to Virat Kohli’s dominant performance against Pakistan’s bowlers.

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While Sourav Ganguly anticipates an exciting contest, he refrained from picking a favorite to win the match. Speaking to the media in Kolkata, he stated, “Both the teams are really good. Pakistan have a good team, India too are really solid. Whoever plays well will win, I don’t think there’s anyone favorite as such. Whoever plays well will emerge victorious.”

Regarding the selection controversy surrounding Yuzvendra Chahal’s exclusion from the Asia Cup squad, Ganguly defended the inclusion of Axar Patel instead. He mentioned that having two players with similar bowling abilities like Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja wasn’t necessary. Ganguly pointed out that Axar Patel’s batting prowess adds value to the team, giving them more depth in the lower order.

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“You can only have three spinners and I think they have done the right thing by picking Axar (Patel), he can bat,” Spurav Ganguly stated, acknowledging the strategic consideration behind Axar’s selection. The former captain’s insights shed light on the team’s decision-making process and the challenges they face in balancing various skills within the squad.