The Asia Cup 2023 tournament ended with a bang with India becoming champions for a record eighth time. The Rohit Sharma-led side decimated Sri Lanka in the final in Colombo, as the co-hosts were bundled out for 50 runs.
Thereafter, openers Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill galloped to the target in 6.1 overs winning by 10 wickets and a record 263 balls remaining in the match.
Apart from this, Sri Lanka also registered their lowest total in an ODI final. Mohammed Siraj won the Player of the Match for his 6/21, while Kuldeep Yadav got the Player of the Tournament for his 9 wickets. While some of the players flourished in the tournament, there were a handful of players who were not so lucky.
Asia Cup was a precursor tournament for five of the six teams. And many of their players couldn’t do much with either the bat or the ball. Now, in the aftermath of career prospects, they face the danger of missing out on the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023 tournament.
Here are 5 players who might get dropped from their national teams after Asia Cup 2023:
5. Karim Janat (Afghanistan)
Karim Janat. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Karim Janat was a surprise inclusion in the Afghanistan team for the Asia Cup 2023 tournament. Before this series, Janat had played only one ODI in 2017 against UAE. He is considered more of a T20I specialist with 49 games in the format.
He was picked in the XI of both matches that Afghanistan played in Group B. Against Bangladesh, Janat managed only 1 run and didn’t pick any wickets. And then against Sri Lanka, Janat made a crucial 22 in 13 balls as Afghanistan almost chased down 292 in the required 36 overs.
However, his performance on his ODI comeback after 6 years was unsatisfactory. The Afghanistan Cricket Board rectified this folly as Karim Janat was not picked in their World Cup 2023 squad. This might also mean Janat won’t be playing in ODIs anytime soon.
4. Kasun Rajitha (Sri Lanka)
Kasun Rajitha. (Photo by Asif HASSAN / AFP) (Photo by ASIF HASSAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Kasun Rajitha was the pace spearhead for Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023 after they lost 2 of their fastest bowlers. Lahiru Kumara and Dushmantha Chameera were ruled out of the tournament due to their respective injuries. And before that seamer Dilshan Madushanka was also confirmed to miss the tournament.
This meant Kasun Rajitha led the Sri Lankan pace attack with Matheesha Pathirana and Pramod Madushan. Rajitha has played 28 ODIs, picking 35 wickets with a best of 4/79. He was supposed to lead from the front in the tournament. But unfortunately, he proved to be quite dull as he picked 4 wickets in 4 matches he played.
The interesting thing is all four wickets came in a single match against Afghanistan. Sri Lanka Is yet to announce its World Cup squad and with chances of Lahiru Kumara coming back, it seems unlikely that Kasun Rajitha would be picked in the ODI squad for the ICC event.
3. Gulbadin Naib (Afghanistan)
Gulbadin Naib. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Gulbadin Naib is one of the experienced players from the Afghanistan team. He made his Afghanistan debut in 2011 and has played 79 ODIs so far, picking 72 wickets and scoring 1207 runs. Naib also captained Afghanistan in the 2019 World Cup in England.
The Asia Cup 2023 was a good chance for Naib to book his spot in the Afghanistan squad for the World Cup 2023 tournament in India. However, seemingly he let the opportunity slip with mediocre performances. He played in both matches for his team but couldn’t do much as he scored 37 runs and picked 5 wickets in total.
His best outing came against Sri Lanka, where he first took 4/60. Then as Afghanistan tried to chase 292 runs in under 37 over, he managed 22 in 16 balls, while batting at no.3. These performances might not help Naib avoid getting dropped from the Afghanistan team with the deadline for the World Cup squad announcement approaching.
2. Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan)
Fakhar Zaman. (Photo by Tharaka Basnayaka/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Fakhar Zaman came into the Asia Cup 2023 short of form with the bat and his low confidence was on display throughout the tournament. He played in 5 matches for Pakistan in the tournament and managed just 65 runs in all with a sorry strike rate of 58.03. Considered to be one of the most aggressive batters in the world, Zaman couldn’t even manage to hit a six.
Zaman’s highest score of the Asia Cup 2023 was 27 which came against India. The match saw Pakistan getting bowled out for 128 runs in a chase of 356 and lost by 228 runs. With Pakistan looking to finalize their World Cup squad, the question remains on whether Zaman would retain his place.
His record of 3272 runs in 78 ODIs and being the only Pakistan batter with an ODI double-ton might work in his favour. But his extremely poor form might also see PCB selectors make a tough decision to bench the southpaw.
1.Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka)
<p>ICC approves Sri Lanka to replace injured Dimuth Karunaratne in World Cup 2015 squad. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</p>
Dimuth Karunaratne is great for Sri Lanka in Test cricket. But when it comes to ODI format, his numbers are very trivial with 1301 runs in 48 matches with one century and 11 fifties. He captained Sri Lanka in the 2019 World Cup but then played only six ODIs in the next two years.
Karunaratne was called back into the ODI team in 2023 and in 11 matches, he has 534 runs. Much was expected from the experienced southpaw in the Asia Cup. But Dimuth only managed 53 runs in 4 matches in the tournament. His highest score was 32 runs.
But with Kusal Perera coming back to the team, Karunaratne might find himself out of contention in the Sri Lankan ODI team. Especially when the ICC World Cup squad is concerned as Sri Lanka would want a dynamic opener like Perera to give them quick starts. Karunaratne with a career ODI strike-rate of 79 cannot do that.