Asia Cup 2023: Ranking All Six Teams Strongest Playing 11

Team India, the number 1 team on paper as we look at the ranking of the strongest predicted playing 11 for all six teams for Asia Cup 2023. 

One of the biggest cricket tournaments of the year, the Asia Cup 2023 is only a week away from the official start. Not only does the event have a historical importance for all the Asian teams, but it will also act as a great practice setup for the biggest showdown of the year, the ODI World Cup 2023. 

Unlike last year, this year’s Asia Cup shall be conducted in ODI format as a prelude to the ODI World Cup. A total of six teams, viz., India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Nepal shall be participating this year. As per the leading website, Cricket Betting Advice, Team India are favourite to win the Asia Cup with odds at 1.17. 

Overall, all teams are equipped with potential players who are going to make a mark in this year’s tournament. We have the official squad in front of us for all teams except for Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. However, we can still guess their strongest playing 11. So, let’s look at the ranking and rating of the strongest playing 11 of all six teams for Asia Cup 2023. 

Ranking All Six Teams Strongest Playing 11 for Asia Cup 2023:

Methodology:

To arrive at the ranking, we will look at the best 11 players from each team across each category, viz., Batting, Bowling, and All-rounder. To remove any biases and perception, we will look at the performance of all these players in ODI cricket over the last 5 years. All players are relatively rated on a scale of 10, and a cumulative team rating is formed to arrive at the final rankings. 

#6: Nepal – 6.36

At number 6, we have Nepal with the strongest playing 11 rating of 6.36. For Nepal, Kushal Bhurtel and Arjun Saud shall open the batting with Aasif Sheik, Rohit Paudel, and Bhim Shirki in the middle-order. The all-round duties shall rely upon Rohit, Kushal, and Karan. Whereas the bowling duties shall rely upon Sandeep Lamichhane, Gulsan Jha, and Kishore Mahato.

Overall, for Nepal, Aasif Sheikh is their best batter and Sandeep Lamichhane is their best bowler. In fact, Sandeep has been a consistent performer in ODIs for Nepal in the last five years. Apart from these two players, a lot will also depend on Captain Rohit Paudel and Opener Kushal Bhurtel.

Asia Cup 2023 – Strongest Predicted Playing 11 for Nepal: 

Kushal Bhurtel, Arjun Saud (wk), Aasif Sheikh, Rohit Paudel, Bhim Sharki, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sandeep Lamichhane, Gulsan Jha, Karan KC & Kishore Mahato.

#5: Bangladesh – 7.89

At number 5, we have Bangladesh with the strongest playing 11 rating of 7.89. The rating reduced considerably for Bangladesh having lost two key players, Tamim Iqbal and Ebadot Hossain. Overall, Bangladesh should see Litton Das and Mohammad Naim as the openers. Whereas the all-rounder duties shall rely upon Shakib Al Hasan, Afif Hossain, and Mehidy Miraz.

The pace department shall be led by Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, and Taskin Ahmed. Whereas the spin department shall rely upon Shakib Al Hasan, Mehedy Miraz, and Afif Hossain. Overall, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, and Litton Das are Bangladesh’s key players. 

Asia Cup 2023 – Strongest Predicted Playing 11 for Bangladesh: 

Litton Das, Mohammad Naim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam & Mustafizur Rahman.

#4: Sri Lanka – 8.27

At number 4, we surprisingly have Sri Lanka, who have the strongest playing 11 rating at 8.27. They are only marginally weaker than Afghanistan on paper, and it is no surprise given they had to play the Qualifiers for ODI World Cup 2023, while Afghanistan, being a better team already qualified.

For Sri Lanka, Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunartne should open with Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, and Charith Asalanka in the middle-order. The All-rounder duties shall rely on Dhananjaya De Silva and Dasun Shanaka,  Whereas the primary bowling shall rely upon Kasun Rajitha, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, and Pramod Madushan. 

Asia Cup 2023 – Strongest Predicted Playing 11 for Sri Lanka: 

Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis (wk), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Kasun Rajitha, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana & Pramod Madushan. 

#3: Afghanistan – 8.30

Number 3 sees Afghanistan with the strongest playing 11 rating of 8.3. Afghanistan, who have a consistent group of players mostly rely on their spinners to make a game. They have three world-class spinners in the line-up in the form of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammed Nabi with Noor Ahmed on the bench.

Apart from their spinners, who are their trump card, a lot would also depend on their top-class openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, and their key pacer, Fazalhaq Farooqi. If Afghanistan get spin-friendly wickets, and they get their weak batting act together, they will be the team to beat. 

Asia Cup 2023 – Strongest Predicted Playing 11 for Afghanistan: 

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Abdul Rahman, Mujeeb Ur Rahman & Fazalhaq Farooqi.

#2: Pakistan – 8.98

The number 2 and number 1 ranked teams will be the teams in focus for this year’s Asia Cup. Between the two, Pakistan are ranked two with the strongest playing 11 rating of 8.98. Pakistan have world-class pace attack, and a solid batting lineup, making them a formidable side to beat in the competition. 

But apart from these consistent 6-7 names in their playing 11, Pakistan does have some inexperience in the form of Usama Mir and Salman Agha. There is no doubt about the potential of these two players, but with less experience, they decrease the overall rating of Pakistan for Asia Cup 2023. 

Asia Cup 2023 – Strongest Predicted Playing 11 for Pakistan: 

Imam Ul Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah & Shaheen Afridi.

#1: India – 9.59

At number 1, we have the strongest team in the competition, Team India. With the addition of Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Jasprit Bumrah, the Indian team looks much stronger on paper. If all these three are fit, we should finally see Team India deploying their strongest playing 11 on paper after a very long time.

Overall, we should see Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma opening the batting for Team India with Virat Kohlia at 3, Shreyas Iyer at 4, and KL Rahul at 5; this is as strong as one can get. The all-rounder duties shall depend on Hardik and Jadeja. Whereas the pace attack should see Burmah, Shami, and Siraj with Kuldeep in the spin department. 

Asia Cup 2023 – Strongest Predicted Playing 11 for Team India: 

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Siraj.

So, that’s about the ranking and rating of the strongest playing 11 of all six teams for Asia Cup 2023. While Team India have the best playing 11 on paper, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka can’t be discounted as well. It shall all depend on how the teams play on that particular day. 

Thanks for reading! Seeing all six teams playing 11, which team looks the strongest to win the Asia Cup 2023? Please email your comments to business@cricalytics.com

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