India has won the Asia Cup seven times from 1984 to 2018. From 1988 to 1995, they won the title three back-to-back as they defended their titles in 1991 and 1995. After that, the other instance in which they defended their title was in 2018, having won in 2016. Last year, they finished in Super Six, having lost to eventual finalists, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
This time around, the Men In Blue would like to win the title for the eighth time in a lead-up to the ODI World Cup a month later. They are seen as one of the favorites to win the continental title given the level of competition from other teams or the lack of it. In this listicle, we will discuss the three reasons why India can win the Asia Cup 2023.
Three reasons why India can win the Asia Cup 2023
1. Familiar conditions in Sri Lanka
The former champions will play all of their matches in the island as decided by the ACC after several meetings with PCB and the Indian Management. Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka, the wickets will be familiar to what they play at home. Their spinners might come in handy.
2. Lack of competition from a few teams
The likes of Sri Lanka and Pakistan aren’t the best of ODI teams at the moment. The defending champions barely survived against the likes of Scotland and the Netherlands in the ODI World Cup qualifier. Both teams exploited the weak batting of the six-time Asia Cup winners.
Talking about Pakistan, they have the likes of Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, and skipper Babar Azam at the top three. However, apart from them, the middle-order has been fragile which has been very evident against the third-strength side of Netherlands and second-strength New Zealand. Nepal will play the tournament for the first time. The likes of Bangladesh and Afghanistan can give tough times.
3. India has some brilliant players at the bench
The Rohit Sharma-led side have some brilliant players at the bench. Even though the squad for the tournament is yet to be announced, the three-match ODI series against the West Indies might give some idea about the playing XI and the bench for the tournament.
However, one thing that they need to combat is the selection issues that have played the national side for the last few years in mult-nation tournaments.