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Pakistan (Source: Twitter)
Pakistan's next biggest assignment will be the Asia Cup in 2023. The Men in Green will want to show themselves well in the multilateral tournament and show that they mean business. Many players have already been accustomed to the conditions in Sri Lanka. From Babar Azam to Fakhar Zaman a lot of the first-team players have played in the Lanka Premier League (LPL).
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The only thing working against the Pakistan players will be that they have been playing cricket and have been travelling for a long time. They had a home series against New Zealand and a two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. A lot of Pakistan's first eleven players stayed back at the Emerald Isle to play at the LPL. So coming into the Asia Cup Pakistan looks slightly cooked.
Pakistan Last won an Asia Cup in 2012:
When it comes to the Playing XI for the Asia Cup, Pakistan's strength will be a top-class pace attack that can be a handful in Sri Lanka conditions. The likes of Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Shah Afridi would be Pakistan's trump cards in the tournament. When it comes to the spinners Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz would be more than a handful in spin-friendly conditions.
The last-minute change that Pakistan made was to replace Saud Shakeel with Tayaab Tahir who will now be part of the Pakistan side as a travelling reserve. When it comes to the Men in Green's batting lineup Imam-ul-Haq, Zaman, Babar Azam, Agha Salman and the likes will be the star batters. The Pakistani side also possesses batting depth.
The likes of Naseem and Shaheen have shown that on more than one occasion they can handle the willow lover down the order. The Men in Green will want to use the advantage of having seen the Sri Lankan conditions already. This makes them a force to reckon with in the Asia Cup. The Babar-Azam-led side also beat New Zealand comprehensively in the ODI series at home.
Here is Pakistan's Strongest Playing XI Ahead of the Asia Cup 2023:
Imam-Ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (C) Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Usama Mir.