Captain Azam focused on Nepal tie rather than India

Pakistan captain Babar Azam stressed his team was focused on today’s Asia Cup opening game against Nepal rather than against arch-rivals India, saying no team can be taken lightly.
The six-nation Asia Cup – which Pakistan and Sri Lanka are co-hosting after India refused to tour Pakistan over political tension – opens in Multan with three other matches in Lahore.
India will play all their matches in Sri Lanka, where nine matches – including the September 17 final – will be staged.
Azam regretted the snub over Pakistan’s hosting.
“In my opinion, it would have been great if the whole Asia Cup was held in Pakistan,” he said on Tuesday.
“But unfortunately, it has not happened, so we have to be ready for whatever schedule is decided,” he said.
Pakistan will fly to Sri Lanka to play India in Pallekele on September 2 before playing a Super Four match in Lahore and then returning to Sri
Lanka for the remaining matches.
Barring any upsets, Pakistan will also play India in Colombo on September 10.
“As professionals, we have to be ready. There is some travelling and back-to-back matches, but we are excited,” said Azam, who also played down the hype over the India clashes.
“Pakistan and India matches are always of high intensity and we will try to play the best cricket on that day, but at the moment we are focused on Nepal and will not take them lightly. It’s the first match and is important,” he added. India, Pakistan and Nepal are in Group A while defending champions and six-time winners Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan form Group B.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Four stages.
Pakistan are on a high, having whitewashed Afghanistan 3-0 in Sri Lanka last week to rise to the top of the one-day international rankings.
Nepal qualified for the Asia Cup after winning the Asian Cricket Council Premier Cup in April at home, beating Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
“We are playing in the Asia Cup for the first time and its a big occasion,” said captain Rohit Paudel.
“We want to give a competitive game to Pakistan and India as well.
“We deserved to be here. We have been playing for more than two decades and this is the highest opportunity for Nepal and a great learning experience against a world-class team.”
Cricket minnows Nepal will hope their high-quality spinner Sandeep Lamichhane cause some problems for Pakistan batting which includes world’s top-ranked batter Azam, number three Imam-ul-Haq and number five Fakhar Zaman.
Their inexperienced batting will be tested by world’s top pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah.

SQUADS, KEY PLAYERS AND BEST PERFORMANCES
Six nations will compete for cricket’s Asia Cup from today, co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Won by Sri Lanka a year ago over the T20 format, this year the Asia Cup reverts to 50 overs.
It is also a final chance for Asia’s cricketing giants to size each other up before October’s World Cup in India.
The top two teams from each group advance to the Super Four with the leading two in the standings contesting the final in Colombo on September 17.
Here’s how the tournament shapes up:

Group A
Pakistan: The top-ranked team are co-hosts with Sri Lanka after a hybrid model was agreed because of India refusing to play in Pakistan.
Pakistan, who rose to world number one after sweeping Afghanistan 3-0 last week, will stage four matches with the remaining nine, including the final in Sri Lanka.
ODI ranking: 1
Captain: Babar Azam
Key players: Babar Azam (batsman), Shaheen Shah Afridi (left-arm fast bowler), Mohamed Rizwan (wicketkeeper-batsman)
Asia Cup best: Winners 2000, 2012 (both 50-over)

India: The cricketing powerhouse have won more Asia Cups than anyone and enter the tournament as favourites as they go for an eighth title.
ODI ranking: 3
Captain: Rohit Sharma
Key players: Virat Kohli (batsman), Hardik Pandya (all-rounder), Jasprit Bumrah (fast bowler)
Asia Cup best: Winners 1984, 1988, 1990, 1995, 2010, 2018 (50-over) and 2016 (T20).

Nepal: Making their debut, Nepal face a baptism of fire against India and Pakistan. Reached the World Cup qualifiers earlier this year, but failed to qualify for the 50-over showpiece.
ODI ranking: 15
Captain: Rohit Paudel
Key players: Aarif Sheikh (batsman), Paudel (batting all-rounder), Sandeep Lamichhane (leg-spinner), Aasif Sheikh (wicketkeeper-batsman)
Asia Cup best: Debut 2023

Group B
Bangladesh: The Bangla Tigers have made it to three Asia Cup finals without winning and have had a difficult build-up with captain Tamim Iqbal and missing the tournament with a back injury.
ODI ranking: 7
Captain: Shakib Al Hasan
Key players: Shakib Al Hasan (batting all-rounder), Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper-batsman), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (all-rounder)
Asia Cup best: Runner-up (50-over) 2012, 2018, (T20) 2016

Sri Lanka: The co-hosts have been a force in the tournament, lifting the trophy six times. They triumphed last year in Dubai, when the Asia Cup was played as a Twenty20 tournament, but have been hit by injuries for this edition.
ODI ranking: 8
Captain: Dasun Shanaka
Key players: Kusal Mendis (opener), Dhananjaya de Silva (all-rounder)
Asia Cup best: Winners (50-over) 1986, 1997, 2004, 2008, 2014, and (T20) 2022

Afghanistan: On their Asia Cup debut in 2014, Afghanistan won their second match against Bangladesh and with their potent spin attack can on their day pose a threat to the top teams.
ODI ranking: 9
Captain: Hasmatullah Shahidi
Key players: Rashid Khan (leg-spinner), Mohamed Nabi (all-rounder), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (off-spinner)
Asia Cup best: Super Four 2018 (50-over), 2022 (T20)