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The Asia Cup 2023 is poised to be a fiercely contested event with subcontinental giants India Pakistan and Sri Lanka pitting their wits against Afghanistan Bangladesh and newcomer Nepal While itrsquos too early to determine the final four teams making early predictions certainly wonrsquot hurtIndeed the odds strongly favour one of the three established cricketing nations to emerge as the winners Sri Lanka are the defending champions but their team management is fretting over injuries to a number of star names who would have been regulars in the squad With no Dushmantha Chameera and Dilshan Madushanka Sri Lankarsquos pacebowling infirmary ward has seen quite a few additions of late Lahiru Kumara also finds himself entangled in a recent injury setbackThe injury troubles extend to the spin department Legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga the countryrsquos whiteball specialist since his ODI debut in 2017 is still on the road to recovery from a gradetwo strain in the thigh and is likely to sit out the group stage There is a lack of certainty over Hasarangarsquos recovery timeline and although there are a string of options to replace him including allrounder Dushan Hemantha the difference in quality will certainly be difficult to compensate for The batting department is no different either Toporder batsmen Kusal Perera and Avishka Fernando testing positive for Covid19 only added to the Lankansrsquo woesThe opening group stages again have clear two favourites to advance from each pool Or maybe threeBangladesh and Sri Lanka face Afghanistan before playing each other while India and Pakistan will play each other and Nepal in the group stageAlso Read Asia Cup Cricketrsquos biggest rivalry returnsThere are enough reasons to consider that the Asia Cup is more of a triseries than anything else That a threeway battle for the coveted title will be among India Pakistan and Sri Lanka is not too difficult to predict although Bangladesh will firmly hope that one of the sides might tumble to give them an outside chance which is fair to inhabit the top fourGroup APakistan This could be the year when Pakistan finally breaks their Asia Cup drought dating back to 2012 Having ascended to the summit of the oneday international rankings they are rated at 113483 surpassing Australiarsquos 113286 and Indiarsquos 112638 Although Pakistanrsquos middleorder conundrum seems far from resolved their deeper batting lineup will work wonders throughout the tournament In fact the lineup is such that it will hardly even compromise the potency of their bowling attack With a pace attack so fast furious and lethal it will be interesting to see how India fares in their opener against the archrivalsPrediction RunnersupKey Players With a staggering strike rate of 8925 captain Babar Azam has proven to be a consistent runscorer and a dynamic toporder batter who can accelerate the innings when needed One cannot really look beyond him at the moment as he is truly the best in the teamNepal Debutants Nepal will look to continue their fine run of form during the Asia Cup Although they are placed with Asian heavyweights India and Pakistan in the same group we must not forget how the same XI scripted a miraculous comeback in the ICC World Cup League 2 winning 11 of their last 12 games to seal a berth for the ODI World Cup Qualifier 2023 This is also the second time the side has qualified for the Asia Cup since 2002 when they finished runnersup in the ACC Trophy But the tournament was never heldPrediction Last in Group AKey Players The experience of Rohit Paudel and former Delhi Capitals spinner Sandeep Lamichhane could come in handy just in caseIndia India are clear favourites in the tournament with several key players making a comeback from injuries Shreyas Iyer who is likely to come in at number four is coming off a serious back injury Meanwhile KL Rahul Indiarsquos number five could miss the group stage matches and has been out of action for an extended period due to a niggleStar pacer Jasprit Bumrah has had a successful Ireland series worth of international action since September last year while Prasidh Krishna did well to reclaim his place in Indias attack a year after a lowerback injury forced him to warm the benchIndia tamed a mighty New Zealand and later Sri Lanka earlier this year sweeping both series at home but their potentially fragile batting lineup lay exposed at the hands of Australia More recently the Men in Blue clinched a threegame series against West Indies with a 21 victoryPrediction WinnersKey Players The Men in Blue is bolstered by the return of Bumrah Rahul and Iyer to the ODI setup Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma need to rediscover their bighitting form to stamp their authority on the tournament Rahul Dravid will most likely try out combinations which he would want to field for the ODI World CupGroup BSri Lanka The Lankans without any doubt will top the group The real question however is whether or not they will retain the title They could be locked in a neckandneck battle with Pakistan after the group stage draws to an end but the latter convincingly hold the upper hand Despite a winning spree across formats an array of injuries and a lack of bowling options compound Sri Lankarsquos Asia Cup troublesPrediction ThirdKey Players With both Kusal Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal ranked among the best in Asia Cup history the onus will be on the duo to score mountains of runs and keep the opposition at bayBangladesh Bangladesh could make it through to the final four but their progress from then on looks less likely Their strategy to field an additional batsman may also backfire Shakib Al Hasanrsquos captaincy will be the cynosure of all eyes as they take on Sri Lanka in the openerPrediction FourthKey Players The inclusion of allrounders Shakib and Mehidy Hasan Miraz indicates Bangladeshrsquos commitment to adding depth to their roster Mirazrsquos riveting century against India last December was nothing short of spectacular His mighty legside strokes sending the ball flying over the boundary ropes still remain etched in our memoriesAfghanistan Labelled as the lsquodark horsersquo Afghanistan appears to have little chance of going through to the top four although their confidence will be riding high after their convincing ODI series win over BangladeshPrediction Last in Group BKey Players The side boasts a talented pool of young players on the back of a strong bowling attack spearheaded by Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman Expect Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran to spring up a surprise in the batting department