Asia Cup 2023: Aakash Chopra Lauds Babar Azam & Co. Ahead Of Nepal Match Says, ‘Pakistan Is A Very Settled Team’

New Delhi: Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has praised the Pakistan cricket team for showing huge improvements from the times when they were highly unstable despite having a lot of talented players in the squad. The cricketer-turned-commentator also said that now Pakistan is a very settled team and also has many more professional and versatile players in the squad. Babar Azam and Co. will face Nepal in the opening fixture of the Continental showpiece at Multan Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, August 30.

The Pakistan side has been considered as one of the underperforming sides in world cricket owing to their inconsistency. On some days Men in Green performs well but on other days they lack consistency which is mainly due to their frequent captaincy and coaching department changes.

In a recent video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra explained why Pakistan cricket has changed and praised the current group of players. He said “Pakistan is a very settled team. There is not much scope for changes and neither is it required. There was a time when the Pakistan team was very volatile. There were changes almost every day. At one point, there were 10 captains in a team. But that is not the case now.

“The team looks a lot more stable and consistent. Numbers 1,2 and 3 do not change a lot. They are more or less the same. Their performances have also been good,” Chopra added.

“Pakistan’s strength is that they have a very good top three and their bowling is also very good. That actually makes up their team. They have three very good fast bowlers – Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah. They are as good as anybody that you’ll get. Shadab is a quality all-rounder, one of the best in Asia,” Aakash Chopra said.

Ahead of the opening match against Nepal, the Pakistan team management has unveiled their playing XI. As eceryone expected, Babar Azam will lead the Men in Green while Shadab Khan will serve as his deputy. Following the match against Nepal at home, Babar Azam and co. will travel across to Sri Lanka to face arch-rivals India on September 2 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

Our playing XI for the first match of #AsiaCup2023 #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/U8KaRXDqHH

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 29, 2023

Confirmed playing XI against Nepal: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf.