Akram on Asia Cup: 'Anyone can win on their day'

The sole focus of announcement of a schedule for a multi-nation event in cricket remains on the date and venue of the clash between arch-rivals in India and Pakistan. 

2023 is guaranteed to have at least two of those blockbuster clashes - in Asia Cup on September 2 and on October 14 in the ODI World Cup. And if two teams progress together to the knockouts, in both the tournaments, fans might be served a two more of those matches. With the Asia Cup presently in focus, the legendary Wasim Akram, who has been part of umpteen such matches for Pakistan, was asked about the "mother of all battles" and he responded with a "dangerous" warning pertaining to India.

This will be the first time the two sides will face each other since the 2022 T20 World Cup match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This will also be their first ever meeting in the ODI format since the 2019 World Cup.

On September 2, India and Pakistan will face each other at the Pallekele International Stadium in Sri Lanka. Pakistan will head into the match after playing their opener against qualifier Nepal while it will be the first match for India in the continental event, following when they play against Nepal two days later.

Ahead of the match, a reporter, during a tournament sponsor's event, asked Akram on how he looks at the impending clash and which team stands at a better position heading into the match. The reporter opined that while the other matches will garner less attention, India-Pakistan clash will be the primary focus as it is the "mother of all battles".

The former left-arm pacer then gave a stern reminder of the 2022 Asia Cup, saying that while most had predicted a face-off between India and Pakistan in the final, Sri Lanka managed to stun all experts by winning the trophy. He further added that the Rohit Sharma-led side didn't even qualify for the final.

"Last time we had predicted an India versus Pakistan final but Sri Lanka won the competition. All three teams are dangerous -- anyone can win on their day," Akram said. "There are other teams competing too. Last time Sri Lanka won the title, India even failed to make it to the final."

Akram was also asked whether the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) could have taken a stronger stand against India's stance of not travelling to their neighbouring country for the Asia Cup, but he looked to steer away from the topic.

"I have always maintained and said that politics and sports should be apart from each other. People to people contact is very important and the average Indian and Pakistani, they do respect each other. I hope eventually sanity prevails," he said.