A day before the opening of Asia Cup 2023, Babar Azam’s Pakistan announced their playing XI against Nepal. There has been one change in Pakistan’s playing eleven and Iftikhar Ahmed has been included in place of Saud Shakeel in the middle order. This move has been done to strengthen their batting lineup. The thing to remember is that Pakistan’s batting lineup is 10 deep. By including Mohammad Nawaz in the lineup, Pakistan have found a way that they can bat deep and dominate the bowling against opening batsman Nepal.
This is a good opportunity for Nepal to be competitive and improve their cricket.
The player to keep an eye on in Nepal’s playing 11 will be Sandeep Lamichhane. This leg spinner is at the forefront of taking 88 wickets since 2021, which any bowler has taken. If Pakistan bats first then it will give them a good chance to score a good score in batting and also get some runs.
Nepal’s expectations from Rohit Paudel’s performance
Nepal will be led by Rohit Paudel. He has scored 1,383 runs in ODIs since 2021. Paudel’s numbers are behind only that of world No. 1 batsman Babar Azam, who will be his opposite number in the tournament opener.
Pakistan hopes for a strong start against Nepal
Pakistan will be hoping for a strong start against Nepal to make a big statement before the big contest. India’s position regarding its first 11 against Pakistan is not clear. Head coach Rahul Dravid informed the press on Tuesday that KL Rahul will not be available in the first match against Nepal. This means that Ishan Kishan will be the wicketkeeper/batsman against Pakistan. But it is unclear where he will bat in the star-studded lineup.
Pakistan’s playing XI:
- Babar Azam (Captain)
- Fakhar Zaman
- imam ul haq
- Mohammad Rizwan
- Iftikhar Ahmad
- salman agha
- Shadab Khan
- Mohammad Nawaz
- Shaheen Afridi
- Naseem Shah
- Haris Rauf
Nepal’s probable playing XI:
- Kushal Bhurtel
- Asif Shaikh (wicketkeeper)
- Bheem Sharkey
- Rohit Paudel (Captain)
- Kushal Malla
- Deependra Singh Airi
- Gulshan Jha
- Sompal Kami
- Karan KC
- Sandeep Lamichhane
- Lalit Rajbanshi
