Asia Cup 2023 Prediction and Betting Tips

2022 Result: Super 4

Captain: Rohit Sharma

Key players: Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav

India is a strong side and they will go into this edition of Asia Cup as the favourites one more time. India could not advance to the Finals of the Asia Cup 2022 as they were defeated by Sri Lanka in a must-win match in Super 4.

India has roped in batters KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, who have recovered from injuries. KL Rahul is still having a little niggle, as reported by the selectors and he might miss a few games. Iyer, on the other hand, is fully fit and he will strengthen the middle-order. India will go with Rohit, Shubman and Kohli at the top 3 set-up and this can provide a strong start to the innings.

Power-hitter Suryakumar Yadav is also included in the squad and Tilak Varma, who displayed his talent in the West Indies, has earned his maiden ODI call up.

Coming to the bowling department, Kuldeep Yadav has been picked to lead the spin attack along with all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel while the pace attack will be handled by Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur. Hardik Pandya and Jadeja would be the key all-rounders for this team.

2022 Result: Runner-up

Captain: Babar Azam

Key Players: Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Fakhar Zaman

Pakistan will be one of the co-hosts this year and they finished the last edition as runner-up.

Pakistan has been in terrific form in the ODI format. Since the last ICC World Cup in 2019, Pakistan has played 9 ODI series and won 7 out of them.

The squad looks stronger than ever with the inclusion of quality white-ball players like batters Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed and bowlers Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf.

For the pitches in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the spin duo of all-rounders Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz will be an effective choice for the Pakistan team.

2022 Result: Winner

Captain: Dasun Shanaka

Key Players: Pathum Nissanka, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Mendis, Maheesh Theekshana

Sri Lanka are the current champions of the Asia Cup. They defeated Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022 final and that season followed a T20 format. Dasun Shanaka led the Sri Lankan team to win their 6th Asia Cup title.

Things look difficult for the Sri Lankan squad this year as the injury plague has hit them hard with 4 key players out of the plans. Important all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga is among the injured players and his exclusion will be a big price to pay.

It is the bowling department which is taking the most toll as Lahiru Kumara, Madushanka and Dushmantha Chameera will be absent from the Asia Cup squad.

Coming to the announced squad, the batting line-up looks decent with Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis and skipper Dasun Shanaka will be the strength in the middle-order.

In the bowlers list, the pace attack responsibility falls on the shoulders of Pathirana, Kasun Rajitha, Binura Fernando, Pramod Madushan. In the spin options, Sri Lanka is left with Maheesh Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage.

2022 Result: Group Stage

Captain: Shakib Al Hasan

Key Players: Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman

Bangladesh had a poor outing in the last edition of the Asia Cup as they were knocked out in the group stage by Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. This year, they have been grouped with these two sides again.

Bangladesh is performing decently in the ODI format. They have won 3 out of the last 5 ODI series.

The star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been appointed as the captain of the side. He has a vast experience of 235 One-Day International matches and has been an effective batter in the middle and a versatile spin bowler. Bangladesh has a decent batting line-up with Hasan along with Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan and Najmul Shanto.

The bowling unit is where the strength of Bangladesh lies. They have a strong pace attack in the likes of Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Ebadot Hossain and Shoriful Islam. The spin attack will have Shakib and Nasum Ahmed.

2022 Result: Super 4

Captain: Hashmatullah Shahidi

Key Players: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Afghanistan impressed everyone in the last edition of the Asia Cup. They defeated both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the group stage and advanced to the Super 4. They almost defeated Pakistan in the Super 4 match but lost the match by 1 wicket.

In the latest ODI series against Pakistan, Afghanistan almost pulled off a victory in the 2nd match but lost by 1 wicket. They performed well overall in the series.

All-rounder Karim Janat is back in the ODI squad after 6 years. Rahmanullah Gurbaz will be the key batter after his brilliant knock of 151 runs in the 2nd ODI against Pakistan followed by Ibrahim Zadran and Najibullah Zadran who will strengthen the batting line-up.

Afghanistan has a strong bowling attack with some of the best spinners and now an effective pace attack as well. Mujeeb Ur Rahman was the leading wicket taker in the Pakistan ODI series while Noor Ahmad has been quite impressive in the IPL 2023. Rashid Khan is currently the best leg spinner in the world and has been active this year playing for various leagues and Mohammad Nabi has picked more than 150 ODI wickets in his career.

In the pace attack, they have Fazalhaq Farooqi and Gulbudin Naib who have been impressive lately. Farooqi picked 5 wickets in 3 ODIs against Pakistan.

2022 Result: Not qualified

Captain: Rohit Paudel

Key Players: Rohit Paudel, Kushal Malla, Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan KC

Nepal will be playing its first ever Asia Cup. They qualified by winning the 2023 ACC Men’s Premier Cup, defeating UAE in the final match. Nepal will be joining the 5 full-time members of Asian Cricket Council for the Asia Cup 2023 edition.

Nepal performed pretty well in the Premier Cup with 4 wins in 5 matches as one of the fixtures ended in no-result. Rohit Paudel will lead the side in the Asia Cup after the Premier Cup win.

Paudel was the 2nd leading run scorer of the tournament with 187 runs while the highest run scorer was Kushal Malla, who smashed 238 runs in 4 innings at a strike rate of 155.55.

In the Nepal’s bowling department, Sandeep Lamichhane is a popular player and he has been part of IPL and various other T20 leagues as well. At the Premier Cup 2023, Lamichhane picked 13 wickets in 5 matches with an impressive economy of 3.79. Karan KC played 3 matches and picked 10 wickets at an average of 9.80.