Pakistan Asia Cup Squad 2023 Announced, Babar Azam To Captain The Side

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), on Wednesday (August 9), announced the Pakistan squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. The continental championship is scheduled to be played from August 30 to September 17 in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The Men in Green, who were originally given the hosting rights of the competition, will be in action on the very first day of the tournament. They will be taking on tournament debutants Nepal in the Asia Cup 2023 opener. Pakistan, Nepal, and Team India are in Group A while reigning champions Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh are in Group B.

With a hybrid model in place for the tournament, Pakistan will host four games of the competition while Sri Lanka will host the remaining nine games. Team India will be playing all of their games in Sri Lanka. The final will also be played in the island nation. Asia Cup 2023 will give the teams the opportunity to finetune their preparations for the upcoming World Cup.

Pakistan squad for Asia Cup 2023:

Babar Azam will be leading Pakistan in the forthcoming edition of the tournament.

Openers: Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq

Middle order: Babar Azam (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Tayyab Tahir, and Saud Shakeel (only for Afghanistan series).

Wicketkeepers: Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Haris

Spinners: Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Mohammad Nawaz and Usama Mir

Pace all-rounder: Faheem Ashraf

Pacers: Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi

? Our squad for the Afghanistan series and Asia Cup ?

Read more: https://t.co/XtjcVAmDV7#AFGvPAK | #AsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/glpVWF6oWW

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 9, 2023

 

Meanwhile, Pakistan will be eyeing their third Asia Cup title and first since winning the tournament in 2012. Having won the tournament twice so far, they made it to the final last year but lost the title decider against Sri Lanka. The Babar Azam-led side is one of the favorites for the tournament this year and will be looking to go all the way.