Asia Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma and Co. reach Sri Lanka to take on Pakistan in first game

The finest Asian teams are aiming for a great showing in the continental competition, which gets underway on Wednesday, August 30, 2023, when Pakistan takes on Nepal. Pakistan and Team India will square off on September 2, 2023. Both rival teams are favourites for the tournament as they eye the trophy before the ICC ODI World Cup in October.

3 things you need to know 

• Sri Lanka and Pakistan are hosting the Asia Cup 2023 
• Sri  Lanka won the tournament last year 
• The final of the tournament will be played on September 17, 2023 

Team India arrives in Sri Lanka before their Asia Cup 2023 opener 

The Rohit Sharma-led Indian squad arrived in Colombo on Wednesday in anticipation of their highly anticipated match of IND vs PAK in Pallekele. The team had spent the previous week practising in Alur, Karnataka.  They successfully landed in Pallekele on Wednesday after leaving Bengaluru earlier in the day. While they were travelling, the opener of PAK vs NEP started in the Asia Cup 2023. All the neighbouring countries Pakistan, Nepal, and India—are in Group A.

Rohit Sharma posted a selfie with bowler Prasidh Krishna, young batter Tilak Varma, and batting instructor Vikram Rathour on Instagram.

(Rohit Sharma on Instagram, Image: Instagram/Rohit Sharma)

Last week, top selector Ajit Agarkar announced the 17-person team for the Asia Cup. Then the squad went to a training camp in Alur. During the camp, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, the former captain, and Shubman Gill will be looking to give India a fresh start in the Asia Cup. 

With a big game coming up soon, this training camp was an important event for the Indian team. Unfortunately, wicketkeeper and batter KL Rahul hurt himself during practice. He had surgery earlier this year, so he will be out in the first 2 matches against Pakistan and Nepal. Ishan Kishan is most likely to replace Rahul in the first two matches. 

India’s squad for the Asia Cup 2023

Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna Traveling stand-by player: Sanju Samson