Host Pakistan’s name missing on Asia Cup 2023 jersey

Mohammad Rizwan. (Photo Source: Twitter)

The upcoming edition of the Asia Cup went through a lot of controversies earlier in the year and at one point, it seemed as if the tournament would get scrapped altogether. For the unversed, Pakistan were set to host the Asia Cup exclusively until India expressed their disinterest in making the trip to their neighbouring country. Eventually, it was decided that Sri Lanka would co-host the tournament alongside Pakistan, with India playing their matches in the island nation.

Pakistan unveiled their brand new jersey that they will be wearing in the forthcoming tournaments like the Asia Cup and the subsequent ODI World Cup on Monday, August 28. It was noticed that the name of the host country wasn’t written beneath the Asia Cup logo.

Does anyone know why the name of the host country is missing under the Asia Cup logo? It’s always there, should be Pakistan written over 👀

Last year, it was Sri Lanka written over there because they were hosts despite the tournament being played in UAE. #AsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/yEvDG7xk9Q

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) August 28, 2023

Earlier this month, reports emerged that Pakistan will be written on the Indian jersey for the first time. In fact, some pictures emerged on social media where Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were seen wearing the new ODI jersey with ‘Pakistan 2023’ written under the Asia Cup logo.

It is important to note that last year, when Sri Lanka hosted the Asia Cup, ‘Sri Lanka 2022’ was written under the Asia Cup logo. This discrepancy has sparked a fresh controversy on social media as fans are perplexed at the new development. The official social media handle of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took to Instagram to share a video of the new kit. The end of the video sees captain Babar Azam in the new jersey alongside vice-captain Shadab Khan and fast-bowling sensation Naseem Shah. Nida Dar and Aliya Riaz, from the Pakistan women’s cricket team, were also seen standing, donning the new attire.

Pakistan enter Asia Cup 2023 as the new No. 1 ODI side

Pakistan recently played a three-match ODI series against Afghanistan in Sri Lanka, which ended last week. The ‘Men in Green’ whitewashed were in scintillating form as they whitewashed Hashmatullah Shahidi’s men 3-0. This performance helped them to topple Australia to claim the No. 1 spot in the ICC ODI team rankings.

This will surely give Babar and Co. some added confidence going into the Asia Cup, a tournament which they have won on two previous occasions in the past.