Asia Cup 2023: Before the Asia Cup 2023 begins, there are only a few days left. The opening match of the tournament will take place on August 30 between Pakistan and Nepal. Pakistan’s Multan Cricket Stadium will host this game. While its final game is scheduled to take place at Colombo’s R.Premadasa Stadium on September 17. The six Asian teams have all begun their tournament preparation.
Before the ODI World Cup 2023 to be held in India, the Indian team has got a golden opportunity to try their players in the Asia Cup. The ODI World Cup is going to start immediately after the Asia Cup is over. In such a situation, the biggest headache of the Indian team is the batsman batting at the fourth position.
Numerous batsmen were given opportunities to play at the fourth position by the team management, but none of the players were suitable. Big names were used by the management for this position, including Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant, and Shreyas Iyer, but none of the players rose to the challenge. Due to injuries, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer are not on the team.
Currently, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are strong contenders for the fourth position in the team. But if these two players are not fit before the Asia Cup 2023, then the team management can turn to 20-year-old Tilak Verma. In the ongoing India West Indies T20 series, Tilak has got the opportunity of international debut, where he is showing his arc. In the three T20 matches played, he has scored 139 runs at an excellent strike rate of 139 and a strike rate of 69.5, which includes a half-century. In the third T20 match also, he played an unbeaten inning of 49 runs in 37 balls with the help of four fours and a six.
Tilak Verma has also played many match winning innings for Mumbai Indians in IPL. So far he has played 25 matches for MI, in which he has a great record. He scored 740 runs in 25 matches at an average of 144 and 38. Along with IPL, he has been doing well in first class cricket as well.
For the opening position, Shubham Gill and Captain Rohit Sharma’s positions are all but set. King Kohli will be in third place, and Hardik Pandya will be in charge of finishing in that spot. Mohammed Shami, Mohammad Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah are also regarded as having nearly fixed positions in bowling. It will be intriguing to see which other players receive opportunities for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023.
Read – Asia Cup 2023 Match Timings Revealed by ACC, IND vs PAK Match Timings
For more details head to ICC’s official website.