There are only 5 days left for the start of the Asia Cup, but the squads of all the teams are yet to be announced. This time a total of 6 teams are participating in this Asian tournament, which are divided into two groups of 3 each. Nepal is in Group-A along with India and Pakistan, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are in Group-B. All the Group-A teams have been finalised, but Group-B still has two teams that are yet to announce their squads for the tournament. These teams are from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
The Afghanistan team is currently playing a three-match ODI series against Pakistan. The last match of this series will be played today i.e. 26 August. In such a situation, hopefully by tomorrow i.e. 27th August, Afghanistan Cricket Board will announce its squad for Asia Cup.
But the injury of the players and the attack of Corona have increased the difficulties of the Sri Lankan team. Sri Lanka suffered a setback on Friday when four of its cricketers were put in doubt for the upcoming Asia Cup after suffering injuries and testing positive for COVID-19. Fast bowler Dushmanta Chamira and leg-spinner Vanindu Hasaranga are injured while Kusal Perera and Avishka Fernando have tested positive for Covid-19.
A shoulder injury sustained during the recent Lanka Premier League (LPL) may rule Chamira out of the Asia Cup. According to ESPNcricinfo, Hasaranga suffered a minor thigh injury ahead of the LPL final that could keep him out of his team’s opening two matches in the Asia Cup.
Sri Lanka will open their Asia Cup campaign on August 31 against Bangladesh in Pallekele. Sri Lanka’s woes were compounded when batsmen Perera and Fernando tested positive for Covid-19. Both have been kept under observation and their inclusion in the squad will depend on their recovery process.
Following are the squads of all teams for Asia Cup 2023-
Group A
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafiq, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi.
India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (Vice-Captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami. Mohammad Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Famous Krishna, Sanju Samson (Travelling Reserve).
Nepal: Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Bhurtel, Asif Sheikh (wk), Bhim Sharkey, Kushal Mala, Arif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Aray, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Pratishth GC, Shyam Dhakal, Sandeep Jora, Kishore Mahato and Arjun Saeed.
Group-B
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Littan Das, Tanzeed Hasan Tamim, Nazmul Hussain Shanto, Tauheed Hridayoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidi Hasan Miraj, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mamud, Mehdi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Shamim Hussain, S. Islam, Ibadot Hussain, Mohammad Naeem
Afghanistan: The team is yet to be announced
Sri Lanka: The team is yet to be announced