Asia Cup 2023: Presenting the batters to watch out for
The 2023 Asia Cup will get underway on August 30 with six teams taking part. The continental event, which will be played in the ODI format, will serve as a preparation for sides participating in the ICC Cricket World Cup in October-November. Nine games will be played in Sri Lanka and four in Pakistan. Here are the batters to watch out for.
Virat Kohli - India
India's run-machine across formats, Virat Kohli has been on a roll in 2023. In 10 ODIs this year, the veteran has smoked 427 runs at an exceptional average of 53.37. The tally includes two tons and a fifty as his strike rate reads 116.03. Notably, the solitary individual 150-plus score in Asia Cup history belongs to Kohli, 183 versus Pakistan in 2012.
Babar Azam - Pakistan
One of the finest batters going around, Babar Azam has truly cracked the code in ODI cricket. Earlier this year, the Pakistan skipper became the fastest batter to complete 5,000 ODI runs, accomplishing the feat in 97 innings. In 2023, he has so far hammered 425 ODI runs at 53.12. His overall average in ODI cricket reads 59.17.
Litton Das - Bangladesh
Litton Das has emerged as Bangladesh's key batter across all formats. The wicketkeeper-batter opens for the Tigers in white-ball cricket and his recent numbers are pretty impressive. Since the start of 2022, he has scored 878 runs in 25 ODIs at an impressive average of 41.80. It must be noted that he is in line to become Bangladesh's next ODI skipper.
Pathum Nissanka - Sri Lanka
25-year-old Pathum Nissanka has emerged as a consistent run-getter for Sri Lanka in the ODI format. He has smoked 687 runs in 14 ODIs this year at an exceptional average of 57.25. With 419 runs at 69.50, he was the second-highest run-getter of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers 2023 in June-July. He was instrumental to SL's triumph at the event.
Ibrahim Zadran - Afghanistan
Team Afghanistan has produced many prodigies in recent years and one of them is Ibrahim Zadran. Having played just 15 ODIs, the youngster already owns four centuries and a couple of fifties with 162 being his highest score. Though Zadran tends to start slow, he has the ability to catch up later. The batter's strike rate of 85.69 is the testimony of the same.
