India vs Pakistan | Who Have Better Squad For Asia Cup 2023?


image-llknz2f7Babar & Rohit having a friendly chat during Asia Cup 2022 (Twitter)


When announcing the 17-player squad for Asia Cup 2023 on Monday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made a few noteworthy decisions. The Ajit Agarkar-led committee brought both Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul—India’s middle-order backbones in ODIs for a while—back into the mix after successful rehabilitation, which brought smiles to many. 

However, at the same time, many also expressed concern over the omission of Sanju Samson from the main squad as well as the exclusion of Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Let’s be practical. You cannot please everyone. You can only choose a squad with a set number of members and move on. But are they sufficient to prevail in the preliminary tournament before the main event, the World Cup? Or do they appear to be stronger than Pakistan, who announced their squad over a week ago? Let's dig a bit deeper.

India squad for Asia Cup 2023

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna

Reserve player: Sanju Samson

Pakistan squad for Asia Cup 2023

Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi


Batsmen

India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma

In Numbers (ODIs)

Name
Innings
Runs
Average
Strike Rate
Rohit Sharma
237983748.6989.97
Virat Kohli2651289857.3293.62
Shubman Gill
27143762.42104.05
Shreyas Iyer
38163146.6096.50
KL Rahul
52198645.1386.57
Ishan Kishan
1669446.26107.43
Suryakumar Yadav2451124.33101.38
Tilak VarmaDNPDNPDNPDNP

Pakistan: Babar Azam, Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris

In Numbers (ODIs)

Name
Innings
Runs
Average
Strike Rate
Babar Azam985089
59.17
89.24
Fakhar Zaman70314848.4393.27
Imam-ul-Haq59
271951.3082.99
Mohammad Rizwan52140834.3488.22
Mohammad Haris4279103.84
Abdullah Shafique3289.3366.66
Tayyab TahirDNPDNPDNPDNP

The addition of Iyer and Rahul back into the mix will significantly benefit India. With Rohit, Gill, and Kohli as the top three, the presence of Iyer and Rahul will make their batting unit the most lethal in Asia, if not the entire world.

On the other hand, Pakistan boast of having three batters (Babar, Imam, and Fakhar) in the top four latest ODI rankings. However, they lack a middle order batters with sufficient international experience, and as a result, India are an outright winner in this department.

Marks: India - 9/10, Pakistan - 6.5/10

Winner: India

All-rounders

India: Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur

In Numbers (ODIs)

Name
Matches
Runs
Bat. Average
Wickets
Bowl. Average
Hardik Pandya77166633.327338.06
Ravindra Jadeja177256032.8219437.27
Axar Patel5241318.775831.48
Shardul Thakur3831518.525829.17

Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf

In Numbers (ODIs)

Name
Matches
Runs
Bat.Average
Wickets
Bowl. Average
Shadab Khan5663128.687328.64
Mohammad Nawaz2828317.683730.94
Faheem Ashraf3121811.472346.08
Iftikhar Ahmed1224641841.75
Salman Ali Agha1133748.143106

This is an area where Pakistan particularly excel, especially in sub-continental conditions. In Shadab, Iftikhar, Nawaz, and Agha Salman, they have players who can equally contribute with the bat and the ball. Furthermore, there is a good chance that all four will be in the starting XI, which increases their chances of batting very deep.

In contrast, India have two excellent all-around players in Hardik and Ravindra who can single-handedly change the course of any match. The Men in Blue do not, however, have multi-dimensional players like Pakistan do, making the latter a marginally superior force in this regard.

Marks: India - 7/10, Pakistan - 8.5/10

Winner: Pakistan

Bowlers

India: Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Prasidh Krishna

In Numbers (ODIs)

Player
Innings
Wickets
Average
Eco. Rate
Jasprit Bumrah7212124.304.63
Kuldeep Yadav8214126.555.16
Mohammed Siraj244320.724.78
Mohammed Shami9016225.985.60
Prasidh Krishna142523.925.32

Pakistan: Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi

In Numbers (ODIs)

Player
Innings
Wickets
Average
Eco. Rate
Shaheen Shah Afridi357023.945.52
Haris Rauf223928.285.85
Naseem Shah82315.044.73
Mohammad Wasim Jnr142424.205.32
Usama Mir61030.705.29

It's tough to pick just one, eh? Perhaps Pakistan might have a slight advantage unless India had had a Jasprit Bumrah less attack. However, with the returning Bumrah, as well as Siraj, Kuldeep, and Shardul, India have now got a potent attack that have the ability to pick up breakthroughs at regular intervals. Do not forget the performances Siraj and Kuldeep have put in over the past few years.

Still, you can’t keep Pakistan behind when it comes to bowling. They have the world's deadliest pace trio right now, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf. Keep this department as a draw, then let us see how things turn out in the end.

Marks: India - 8/10, Pakistan - 8/10

Winner: Draw

Final Result: India - 24/30, Pakistan - 23/30

Winner: India

India's predicted 11 for Asia Cup 2023

Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj

Pakistan's predicted 11 for Asia Cup 2023

Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah

Let us wait to watch the ultimate winner of the battle when the two sides go head-to-head on September 2 at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.