"No one has bowled more wides than him in a year" - Aakash Chopra on Sri Lanka's weaknesses ahead of 2025 Asia Cup

Former India player Aakash Chopra has picked inconsistency in the seam-bowling attack as one of Sri Lanka's weaknesses heading into the 2025 Asia Cup. He pointed out that Matheesha Pathirana, who is one of the Lankan Lions' most potent weapons with the ball, can be wayward at times.

The 2025 Asia Cup is scheduled to be played in the UAE from September 9 onwards. Sri Lanka are placed in Group B alongside Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong for the preliminary phase of the tournament.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener opined that inconsistent seam bowling could prove to be one of Sri Lanka's stumbling blocks in the 2025 Asia Cup.

"The pacers' slight consistency issue. Dushmantha Chameera can be absolutely lethal and can sometimes be awful. Matheesha Pathirana can again be lethal and sometimes when he starts bowling wides, no one has bowled more wides than him in a year. Binura Fernando, if he plays, can be very good if it's swinging, but what if it's not swinging? So a slight inconsistency is seen," he said (4:35).

Chopra added that some Sri Lankan players' lack of game time, due to injury issues, could be another weakness.

"I do feel that injuries are an issue. Many people are returning from injuries. When you return from an injury, you aren't battle-tested. That could be their Achilles heel. We are talking about Wanindu Hasaranga, but he is returning from injury. What if he doesn't play that well? They depend a lot on him," he observed.

Wanindu Hasaranga has picked up 131 wickets at an economy rate of 6.98 in 77 T20I innings. However, he hasn't played a competitive game since July 8 and missed a few games due to injuries in IPL 2025 as well.

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"Repeat what you did in 2022" - Aakash Chopra on the opportunity for Sri Lanka in 2025 Asia Cup

Sri Lanka won the 2022 Asia Cup. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that the 2025 Asia Cup presents Sri Lanka with a chance to regain their lost glory.

"They used to be a team about whom you used to say that they would reach the final stages of a World Cup. However, when the decline started, it kept happening, although you get sparks of brilliance in between. So this is an opportunity to repeat what you did in 2022. Regain the lost glory," he said (6:40).

While acknowledging that Charith Asalanka and company are in a difficult group, the cricketer-turned-commentator backed them to qualify for the Super Fours.

"It's not an easy group. Only two teams from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka will progress. I am writing Hong Kong off right away. It's not that straightforward for anyone to progress from this group, but you should back Sri Lanka, as they are a good team," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra opined that Sri Lanka, unlike most other teams, might not mind batting first in the 2025 Asia Cup if dew isn't a significant factor. He highlighted that some of their players, like Pathum Nissanka, perform better when setting a target and that they have the bowling to defend scores.