Asia Cup 2023: The continental tournament will return within the next few months albeit in a different format.
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India captain Shikhar Dhawan was seen trying to put a smile on his opening partner Shubman Gill’s face after winning the recently concluded third ODI against South Africa in Delhi.
Gill, who witnessed India sealing a 100-run chase less than six balls after his dismissal, admitted to being disappointment due to the same. Having done all the hard work, Gill not only missed an opportunity to return back to the pavilion unbeaten but also missed out on a fourth ODI half-century.
“Quite disappointed by the way I got out. But all learning from the series. The way we were down [after the first ODI] and the way we came back was tremendous. The bowlers did a great job in this series. Really pleasing series for us,” Gill told Star Sports right after the match concluded in Delhi today.
Wanting to play across the line to a Lungi Ngidi delivery, Gill didn’t manage to make any contact with the ball only to be found wanting in front of the stumps. Nevertheless, the 23-year old player departed after scoring a stroke-filled 49 (57) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Shubman Gill set sights on Asia Cup 2023 cricket in Pakistan
Gill, who rightly pointed out this Indian team’s character and intent for winning two back-to-back matches in order to avoid a series loss, expressed excitement with respect to two multi-team ODI tournaments to be played in the next 12 months.
Having started to press his case as a reserve opening batter in a full-strength Indian ODI squad on the back of scoring 579 runs in 12 innings at an average and strike rate of 57.90 and 102.65 respectively, an ambitious Gill has set sights on Asia Cup 2023 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
“Exciting times for us with the 50-over Asia Cup coming up. And [with] the World Cup being here in India [next year], definitely a lot of excitement around,” Gill mentioned.
While the last edition of Asia Cup had concluded exactly a month ago, the tournament is set to return in the ODI format in 2023. Slated to be played in Pakistan after one as many as 15 years, Asia Cup 2023 will aim at providing ample opportunities to Asian teams for trying out different combinations before an ODI World Cup later that year.
