Asia Cup 2018: Pakistan Will have an Upper Hand - Aamir Sohail

Former Pakistan cricketer, Aamir Sohail believes the Champions Trophy winners will have the upper hand in the forthcoming Asia Cup 2018 in the UAE.

Aamir Sohail backs Pakistan to come good

Sohail feels the pitches will help the side win games. However, the tournament will start from September 15 onwards, and India and Pakistan are in the same group.

The much-awaited tournament will feature six teams – Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. However, India is the defending champions. Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian side in the absence of Virat Kohli. Earlier, the BCCI selectors had rested Kohli to manage the work-load.

“India and Sri Lanka are tough teams, and good competition is expected from them,” he said.

A win over India would be massive

However, Aamir said Pakistan’s 2017 Champions Trophy win would give them more confidence when they face India in the competition.

“Pakistan will definitely have an upper hand against all teams as they have played in the UAE more than any other team,” he said.

Sarfraz Ahmed and his men will look to gain the upper hand and make most of the familiar conditions. The Indian squad still packs a punch. The likes of MS Dhoni and Shikhar Dhawan will look to fire while the latest additions of Ambati Rayudu and Khaleel Ahmed augur well for the side.

On strengthening the internal affairs of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Aamir said the PCB chairman, Ehsan Mani must conduct an evaluation process among board officials.

“A person who has been performing well must continue, while those who have not been giving positive results should be held accountable,” he said, adding Mani must eliminate politics from PCB.

On the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between PCB and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2014 to play bilateral series from 2015 to 2023, he said the former PCB chairman, Najam Sethi had just given false hopes to the nation about a series against the arch-rivals, as there was no such thing on paper.