Babar Azam raises questions on Asia Cup schedule hours before ...

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has raised questions over the tight scheduling of Asia Cup 2023 hours before the tournament begins with their match against Nepal in Multan on Tuesday. This year's Asia Cup was supposed to be held in Pakistan but due to India's reservation in travelling to Pakistan, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) had no option but to host the tournament in a hybrid model. Sri Lanka were added as the hosts along with Pakistan. This is the first time in the history of the Asia Cup that the tournament will be played in two countries simultaneously. India will play all its matches in Sri Lanka, while all the five other teams - Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Nepal - will travel from Pakistan to Sri Lanka or the other way around in a short interval.

Pakistan start their campaign on Wednesday against Nepal in Multan and then fly to Sri Lanka the very next day for the big-ticket clash against India at Pallekele on September 2. Within 24 hours, they are back in Lahore for their Super Four game on September 6 and then again fly back to Sri Lanka the next day for the next game on September 9.

Ahead of their Asia Cup 2023 opener against Nepal, Babar Azam said it would have been better had the tournament been played in Pakistan entirely.

"If you ask me, it would have been good if the whole tournament would have been held in Pakistan, but unfortunately, nothing can be done about it," Babar said at the pre-tournament media conference. "As professionals, we are ready for any schedule that is given to us. There would be travelling as well as back-to-back games and we are ready for that," said Babar.

Babar said they have planned their flight timings in such a manner that the players get adequate rest in between matches.

"Our coaches and support staff have chalked out plans about how much we would utilise each player and also we have booked our flights in such a manner, that our travelling schedule gives enough time to rest," he added.

While he didn't want to divulge his strategy about the India game, he expected that his team would put up the best show possible.

"We want to continue with this momentum. Pakistan's match against India will be a high-intensity game and we want to play our best cricket on the given day," he added.

The skipper, rated as one of the premier batters in contemporary cricket, is happy that Pakistan team is currently ranked No. 1 in ODIs and also a lot of their players are in top-10.

"I needed to take the team to a different level and change mindset. Now, we have at least 3-4 players in top-10 and when you set a standard, there will be expectations and you have to fulfil those expectations. Performances should be such that the team wins," he added.