F.P. Report
KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain and renowned commentator Ramiz Raja was left out of the star-studded commentary panel for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023, scheduled to commence on August 30.
The official broadcaster of this year’s Asia Cup on Friday announced the commentary panel which featured Pakistan’s Bazid Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Aamer Sohail.
The commentary panel further features prominent names like Ravi Shastri, Andy Flower and Matthew Hayden.
Notably, the former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja, who returned to commentary after an almost two-year hiatus during Pakistan’s two-match away Test series against Sri Lanka last month, was not named in the panel.
Soon after assuming the charge of the PCB chairman, Ramiz took a break from the commentary and remained involved in running the affairs of the cricketing body till his ouster in December 2022.
Despite his ouster, Ramiz Raja did not immediately return to the commentary role and missed the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and the home series against New Zealand.
Commentary panel for Asia Cup 2023:
Ravi Shastri, Wasim Akram, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Waqar Younis, Andy Flower, Marvan Atapattu, Irfan Pathan, Matthew Hayden, Sanjay Bangar, Aamer Sohail, Piyush Chawla, Dominic Cork, Sanjay Manjrekar, Deep Dasgupta, Mohammad Kaif, Bazid Khan, Aditya Tare and Rajat Bhatia.
This year’s Asia Cup will kick off with host Pakistan taking on Nepal in the curtain raiser on August 30 in Multan. Pakistan will host a total of four matches including a Super 4s fixture.
India’s group stage matches including the anticipated clash against Pakistan, scheduled on September 2, will be held in Kandy while the rest of the Super 4s matches, including the final will be played in Colombo.
The arch-rivals Pakistan and India will come face to face again on September 10 in Colombo if both manage to qualify for the Super 4s.
Like the previous edition, the Asia Cup schedule holds a possibility of treating the cricket fans with a maximum of three Pakistan-India matches in a single tournament if both arch-rivals, in a first, simultaneously qualify for the final.
The upcoming edition of the Asia Cup features six teams, divided into two groups, the top two teams from each group will then qualify for the Super 4s. The continental event will run from August 31 to September 17.
Hosts Pakistan are placed in the same group as arch-rivals India and Nepal while the other group includes defending champions and co-hosts Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The Asia Cup 2023 will be played in the ODI format and will serve as an opportunity for the Asian teams to bolster their preparations for the upcoming ICC Men’s World Cup.
