‘We are ready’: Pakistan T20I captain Salman Agha sends bold message ahead of Asia Cup

FLORIDA: Captain Salman Ali Agha declared that Pakistan is “ready” for the Asia Cup, which is scheduled to begin on September 9, following their narrow two-wicket defeat in the second T20I against the West Indies.

The tournament will follow the T20I format and feature eight teams: the five full members of the Asian Cricket Council: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, along with the UAE, Oman, and Hong Kong.

Asia Cup will offer an opportunity to all the participating teams to fine-tune their preparations for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. With barely a month left for the commencement of the Asia Cup in the UAE, Pakistan skipper Agha has sent a bold message to the rest of the opposition.

“The way spinners bowled in both games, I think we’re ready for the Asia Cup. They always come in numbers and support us wherever we play,” Agha said in the post-match presentation after the second T20I against the West Indies.

India, Pakistan, UAE and Oman are in Group A, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong are in Group B. Dubai will host 11 matches, and Abu Dhabi will be the home ground for eight fixtures. The tournament opener is placed between Afghanistan and Hong Kong on September 9 in Abu Dhabi.

Although India is the formal tournament host, a neutral venue will be provided for the opposing team for three years for competitions held in India or Pakistan, according to an agreement between the BCCI and the PCB.

In the buildup of the series, Pakistan embarked on the three-match T20I affair against the Caribbean side with flying colours. In the series opener, the Men in Green hammered 178/6 on the board and defended it successfully with a spin masterclass.

In the second fixture, fortune turned its face away from Pakistan. Their batters struggled to find their mojo and limped to 133/9. In reply, Pakistan’s spin troika of Mohammad Nawaz, Sufiyan Muqeem, and Saim Ayub failed to pull off a rescue act. Agha dissected his side’s performance and felt a 130-run target was never going to be enough against an explosive West Indies side.

“In this game, we didn’t bat well in the powerplay and couldn’t finish the game like we wanted either. But we bowled and fielded well. There’s always room to improve – death bowling can be better. 130 was never enough, but they fought really well,” he added.

In the Asia Cup, India can face Pakistan three times in the tournament. Apart from the scheduled group stage fixture, India and Pakistan can compete in the Super 4 if they qualify from the group stage. If they manage to go past the Super 4 stage, they will square off for the third time in the tournament’s final.

Fans, various politicians and former cricketers believe that India should not play against Pakistan in the tournament. The outrage over India facing Pakistan in the tournament stems from the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam during which 26 tourists were killed on April 22 by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists in the name of religion. India responded with Operation Sindoor on May 7 to avenge the attack and dismantle the terror infrastructure across the Line of Control and deeper inside Pakistan (ANI)