The former cricketer Sarfaraz Nawaz highlighted the Indian cricket team's recent experiments in ODIs and compared them with the Pakistani team ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 on Friday, August 11. Nawaz believes that the Men in Blue are yet to find their preferred playing eleven and said that the Pakistani team is comparatively well prepared for the tournament.
Indian team failed to reach the finals of the 2019 ODI World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup. They also struggled in last year's T20 Asia Cup where Pakistan reached the finals. India rank third in the current ICC ODI Team's chart while Pakistan are ahead in second place.
The Men in Blue won their last ODI series against West Indies last month but it was not a convincing performance. They struggled to field a similar playing eleven in all three ODIs against West Indies with senior batter Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli being given rest from the last two games.
Nawaz feels that the Indian team is struggling to find the right combination at the moment and that gives 'more-settled' Pakistan an edge in Asia Cup.
“Pakistan has a much more settled and stable outfit for the Asia Cup and World Cup when compared to India. The Indians have still not been able to work out their final combination for these major events,” Nawaz told the media in Lahore on Friday.
However, the legendary pacer also added that the only plus point for the Indian team is its senior cricketers performing consistently well. Both Virat and Rohit will be slotted back to their natural positions in the team but the recent experiments in ODIs are likely to do more harm than good for Rahul Dravid's team.
"Captains are changing, many new players are being tried out, and there are no proper combinations. I feel instead of developing the Indian side it is being destroyed. They are always high expectations when you play at home and it creates more pressure. India’s plus point is they have some good senior performers," Nawaz added.
