'They have a balanced squad. But it will not be...' - Wasim Akram's big statement on India ahead of Asia Cup 2023 clash against Pakistan

The two arch-rivals and the cricketing superpowers, India and Pakistan, are set to lock horns with each other in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. Both teams will play this highly anticipated clash on Saturday, August 2nd at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy. The buildup for this high-octane encounter has already heated up with the statements and analyses from the former cricketers and experts of the game.

It is also worth mentioning that Pakistan are going ahead in the continental championship with the tag of the World No. 1 side in the ODI format. They are riding high on confidence after defeating Afghanistan in a clean sweep by a straight margin of 3-0 in the recently concluded three-match ODI series.

I think they are trying different things: Wasim Akram on India ahead of Asia Cup 2023

Meanwhile, the former legendary Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram has come up with a wake-up call for Team India. He mentioned the current experiments from the Indian team management, especially in the T20I format.

“India versus Pakistan is very important, we know about so much support (teams get), so many eyeballs, so many people (following). But other teams are also here to play so you cannot minus Sri Lanka or Bangladesh,” Akram was quoted as saying by PTI.

“I think they are trying different things, new players especially in the T20 format, also a new captain. They have a balanced squad. But it will not be easy for India or any team,” he added later.

Notably, both India and Pakistan have already announced their squads for the upcoming 16^th edition of the continental championship. Team India is quite relieved as the two stars, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, have come back to the squad after a long injury break.

Here’s a look at the squad of India for the Asia Cup 2023:

Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.

Travelling Reserve – Sanju Samson