3 Pakistan players India will have to be wary of ahead of Asia Cup 2023 clash ft. Babar Azam

Team India will take on Pakistan in their much-hyped Asia Cup 2023 clash at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday. This will be the first meeting between the teams since the 2022 T20 World Cup clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where Virat Kohli lifted the Men in Blue to an iconic triumph.

Pakistan began their Asia Cup campaign with a thumping 238-run win over Nepal in the tournament opener at the Multan Cricket Stadium. While the victory was on expected lines against the Asia Cup debutants, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam asserted after the game that the result will give them confidence heading into the high-voltage clash against the Men in Blue.

Looking at the head-to-head record between the two countries in the Asia Cup in ODIs, the arch-rivals have featured in 13 matches, with India winning seven and Pakistan five. One match produced no result.

As India aim to extend their lead against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, we look at three Pakistan players Rohit Sharma and co. need to be wary of heading into Saturday’s encounter.

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#1 Babar Azam

Babar Azam struck 151 off 131 balls versus Nepal. (Pic: AP)

Pakistan captain Babar does not have a great record against India in the ODI format. In five one-day matches against the Men in Blue, he has scored 158 runs at an average of 31.60, with a best of 48. However, the sample size is too small to make a conclusion about Babar’s performance against India.

There is no doubt that he is among the best players of the modern era and will be keen to leave his stamp on the big game, just like he did during the 2021 T20 World Cup match against India in Dubai.

In that clash, Babar scored an unbeaten 68 off 52 balls and shared an unbroken stand of 152 with Mohammad Rizwan (79* off 55) as Pakistan thumped India by 10 wickets.

Babar will go into Saturday’s match against India high on confidence, having hammered an impressive 151 off 131 balls against Nepal in Multan in the Asia Cup 2023 opener.

Although the knock came against a relatively inexperienced opponent, runs on the board always give the batter a sense of assurance that he needs ahead of a big challenge.

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#2 Shaheen Afridi

Pakistan left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi (Pic: Getty Images)

There are concerns over left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi’s fitness as he walked off the field during Pakistan’s match against Nepal. Some experts also felt that his rhythm wasn’t looking all that great. Despite it, Shaheen managed to pick up two wickets in five overs.

He had Kushal Bhurtel caught down leg for 8, which was more of a lucky wicket. However, on the very next ball, he produced a brute to trap Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel lbw for a golden duck with his trademark full inswinger. The dismissal of reminiscent of another Rohit [Sharma] being nailed lbw for a first-ball duck in the 2021 T20 World Cup match in Dubai.

Pakistan will be hoping Shaheen is fit for the match against India. If he plays, he will be a massive threat to the likes of Rohit, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. And if the left-arm seamer manages to knock over a few wickets early, Pakistan can put Team India under huge pressure.

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#3 Shadab Khan

Shadab Khan celebrates a wicket against Afghanistan. (Pic: AP)

There was a time when Indian batters were expected to dominate spinners irrespective of the format. However, that has not been the case over the last decade or so.

Repeatedly, slow bowlers have caused Team India heartbreak - be it Moeen Ali from England, Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon from Australia, or to a lesser extent Mitchell Santner from New Zealand.

Shadab Khan is a high-quality leg-spinner, who has troubled a number of top batters across various teams. He has an impressive ODI record, having claimed 81 wickets from 60 matches. Shadab is a canny bowler with some smart variations to catch batters off-guard.

Not only with the ball, the 24-year-old has the ability to win matches with the bat as well. On his day, he can be highly destructive with the willow. India will be well aware of the threat that Shadab could pose to them in Pallekele.