Pakistan had a great start to Asia Cup 2023 as they hosted four games at home. The Pakistan leg of the Asia Cup consisted of four games and all of them yielded results. The Men in Green were hosting a multilateral event for the first time since 2008 when Pakistan last hosted the Asia Cup. Pakistan had a rousing start as they demolished Nepal by 238 runs in their first game.
In their second Group Stage encounter, they put on a great bowling performance against India and skittled them down to 266. In their first Super Four fixture, they beat Bangladesh comprehensively by 7 wickets in Lahore. They had one Group fixture against India which was rained out. Let us take a look at Pakistan’s playing XI ahead of their match against Sri Lanka.
Top Order
When it comes to the Men in Green, they have two solid openers in Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq. Babar Azam, their captain and their best batter takes the reins at number three. Mohammad Rizwan generally bats in the middle order and also dons the gloves for Pakistan. Zaman will look to play an aggressive role while Imam will want to bat through the innings and anchor this Pakistan batting unit.
Middle Order
Pakistan have the ever dependable Mohammad Rizwan at number four. Iftikhar Ahmed and Agha Salman along with Shadab Khan form a very formidable middle order for the Men in Green. To add batting depth to their squad they have also drafted Faheem Ashraf the all-rounder in their side. The Men in Green have played a Test series and also in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) and so they should have a good understanding of Sri Lankan conditions.
Lower Order and bowlers
Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf are the big part of the Pakistan pace trio, Shadab is the main wrist spinner in the squad. Naseem and Shaheen also add further depth in batting to Pakistan’s side. The Pakistan XI is largely settled and there should be no changes going into the game against Sri Lanka barring injuries.