Asia Cup 2023: What seven-time champions India and other World Cup-bound teams will be hoping to achieve

The 16th edition of the Asia Cup is just a day away with Pakistan hosting Nepal in Multan on Wednesday. Having taken place in the T20I format last year, the continental showpiece event returns to the ODI format this time around as a precursor to the ICC World Cup that takes place in similar conditions later this year.

Asia Cup 2023: All you need to know

While traditionally having been a standalone event in the ODI format, the Asia Cup has evolved in recent years; not only has it been switching between the two white-ball formats since the tournament made its T20I debut in 2016, it has also become valuable practice for the teams involved ahead of the ODI and T20 World Cups besides the continental bragging rights.

This year’s edition will also be the first in which matches will take place in two separate nations, though the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) retains the hosting rights for all matches. While Pakistan had been awarded the hosting rights for the entire tournament initially, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) later expressed reluctance to travel to Pakistan and managed to get a majority of the matches, including all games involving India as well as the final, shifted to Sri Lanka.

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With the Asia Cup likely to have a significant impact on the participating team’s plans for the World Cup, we take a look at what the teams, barring Nepal, will be hoping to achieve in the tournament:

India

Team India had won back-to-back editions in 2016 and 2018, albeit in different format, and were heavily favoured to go the distance in last year’s edition in the UAE, only for their campaign to fizzle out with defeats against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Men in Blue start favourites once again and will certainly be backing themselves for a seventh ODI Asian title and an eighth overall.

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