Twitter Reactions Asia Cup 2023

'1st-time koi sahi baat kari hai isnea' - Fans react as Sanjay Manjrekar says 'Mohammad Shami would've been more threatening to Pakistan than Shardul Thakur

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has slammed Rohit Sharma for dropping Mohammad Shami against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2023. 

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Rohit Kumar
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Sanjay Manjrekar

The 16th edition of the Asia Cup has started. The much-awaited fixture of the Asia Cup 2023 between India and Pakistan is at the moment taking place at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy. The Men in Blue skipper, Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first.

Team India has dropped star India pacer, Mohammad Shami for this match and brought in all-rounder, Shardul Thakur in place of him. Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar slammed the 36-year-old for dropping the seamer.

The 58-year-old opined that Shami would be more dangerous than Thakur if he had been included in the team for the Pakistan clash. "Mohammad Shami would've been more threatening to Pakistan than Shardul Thakur. You talk about batting depth, but bowling depth matters too," Manjrekar was quoted as saying in the pre-show.

We'll try to do our best: Babar Azam

"We are going to bat first. There is a bit of weather around, but can't think much about it. Got to play good cricket, you need to embrace the challenge, embrace the situation. We had some time off after the West Indies series," Rohit was quoted as saying after winning the toss.

"Everyone was up for those drills and challenges in Bangalore. Let's see what we can achieve in this tournament. It's a quality tournament with quality oppositions. At the end of the day we need to see what we can achieve as a team. Iyer is back, Bumrah is back and we got three seamers. Got two spinners - Kuldeep and Jadeja," the right-hand batter added.

"We would have batted first, but toss is not in our hands. We have played a lot of cricket here, so we know the conditions. Top teams are playing so Asia Cup is good. We'll try to do our best. We are playing with the same combination, no changes. Performing well always gives you confidence, we'll try to capitalize. It's a high-intensity match, we'll try to be calm and composed," Pakistan skipper Babar Azam stated after losing the toss.

Here is how fans reacted: 

India Pakistan featured Asia Cup 2023 Mohammed Shami Sanjay Manjrekar Shardul Thakur