http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 'slight favourites' for Asia Cup: Waqar – Cricket News update
Commenting on the desired favourites for the upcoming Asia Cup, scheduled to commence tomorrow, the former fast bowler of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 has termed Sri Lanka as a much stronger unit considering their recent form.
The statement comes at a time when the Lankan http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750. Their impressive performances led them to qualify for the three-legged final
before being undone by the hosts in the 3rd final at Adelaide.
The four nation tournament includes the traditional foes Pakistan and India while Bangladesh will be hosting the competition with Sri Lanka joining in as the 4th participant. Going by the performances of their competitors in the recent series,
Sri Lanka leaps ahead of others by a considerable margin.
“We have seen both India and Pakistan struggle recently in One Day Internationals with Sri Lanka doing unexpectedly well in Australia. If you go by form alone, then Sri Lanka have to be considered slight favourites,” said Waqar in a statement.
When asked about the prospects of the home team, Younis remarked: “One should not write off http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 as well, they are a good side - they may not win the tournament but they have the ability to upset some of the bigger sides.” Bangladesh is currently placed
well below the other 3 contestants – occupying the 9th spot in the Reliance http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 ODI rankings.
After poor outings on their respective recent series in UAE and Australia, question mark lingers over the arch rivals ability to lift the current Asia Cup. While the Pakistani contingent were outclassed by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c749 in the ODI series, Indians were outplayed
by the Aussies and their Asian counterparts in the CB series, which was further marred by unrest among the senior players.
The Men in Blue also suffered a drop in ranking following their dismal showings, where they now occupy the no.3 spot, followed by in-form Lankan Lions at number 4, while the Men in Green are at number 6.
Commenting on the playing conditions in Bangladesh, Waqar opined that since only Asian teams are participating, they all can adjust very well.
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