Asia Cup 2023 will commence on 30th August 2023. Asia’s cricket giants will be battling against each other to become the best in Asia. The first match will be played between Nepal and Pakistan. With six teams in the competition and more than 100 players ready to give their best, here are the top eight players who will prove to be match-winners for their teams. 

• Virat Kohli is one of the best batsmen in the modern cricket era. His consistency, ability to find gaps at will, and hunger for scoring runs make him a major contender to become the ultimate match-winner for the men in blue. Talking about numbers, Virat Kohli is one of the best when it comes to stats. He has scored 46 centuries in ODIs which is second to Sachin Tendulkar. Even his highest score in ODIs also came against the arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2012, when he scored 183 runs. India will play their first match on 2nd September against Pakistan, it would be interesting to see if the king of cricket is able to get the best out of the Pakistani bowlers or not. 

• Babar Azam is an emerging batting star for the Pakistani team. He is going to lead the World’s best ODI team in the tournament. With his conventional batting technique and temperament, he can go on to become one of the highest run scorer of the tournament 

• The Indian captain, Rohit Sharma is one of the most talented cricketers playing in the tournament. Rohit Sharma is known for his aggressive batting style and ability to time the ball beautifully. The 36-year-old prodigy will surely play an important role in giving India an aggressive start.

•  Along with Rohit Sharma, his opening partner, Shubman Gill is surely the young batting talent that India would be searching for. Shubhman Gill has a batting style similar to that of Virat Kohli, his temperament and mastery in finding gaps and playing along the ground will help his team survive any batting collapse. 

• Rashid Khan, the Afghan all-rounder will certainly turn out to be a game-changer for Afghanistan. Rashid has the talent to deceive any batsman with his magical leg spin, he also is a handy batsman, who can hit sixes at will and turn the game from any position. The Unorthodox batsman bats in the lower order, giving Afghanistan depth in their batting. 

• Talking of Afghanistan batsmen, the Wicket-keeper batsman, Rahmanullah Gurbaaz is also a key player for the team. Gurbaaz has recently scored a remarkable knock of 151 runs at Hambantota against Pakistan. Gurabaaz is a young talent, who would open the innings for Afghanistan and is capable of giving them an explosive start. 

• Pace bowling has always been a strength for the Pakistan team. This time the young Left-arm fast bowler, Shaheen Afridi is all set to lead the Pakistani bowling attack. Afridi is able to swing the white ball in early overs and bowl at good lines as the innings proceed. Afridi can also deceive the batsmen with his pace and has the Left-hander’s advantage. He can also destroy the batting orders of cricketing powerhouses. 

• India’s bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has always been in the limelight for his bowling. Bumrah is recognized for his unique action and understanding of the game. Bumrah had made his comeback after a year against Ireland, taking two wickets in the very first over he bowled, showing his class and standard of his bowling. On his day, Bumrah can prove to be a lethal weapon for the Indian team.