Asia Cup 2021 Betting Guide

Asia Cup Teams

India

India will be considered an even surer outright bet than usual, given how easily they won the 2016 T20I format Asia Cup. Armed with some of the IPL’s greatest talents, India beat a respected T20I side in Bangladesh in the Asia Cup final of that year by eight wickets (122/2), with just 13.5 overs played in their innings.

Thanks to the growth of IPL, India are the undisputed masters of white-ball cricket in the eastern hemisphere. Their philosophy is one of striking hard, fast, and early, setting up unassailable tallies for opponents to chase. This attitude can only favour them in the more boundary-focused T20 format set to be used in 2021, as opposed to ODI format.

India also won the last Asia Cup tournament to be hosted by Sri Lanka, and there are widely held expectations of a final involving these two nations. In addition to the word of those providing the best cricket predictions in the world, their recent T20 record against Sri Lanka also grows in significance. Notably, they've won ten T20I matches out of the last 11 played against Sri Lanka to yield a firm result.

Sri Lanka

By winning five of the previous 14 Asia Cup editions, Sri Lanka have a defined culture of success in this tournament. Their last tournament win was in 2014, with a close-fought five-wicket victory over a determined Pakistan in the final. They won with 19 balls to spare, despite recording the most runs conceded by any winning ODI-format Asia Cup finalist facing a full set of 50 overs.

If Sri Lanka find themselves in a similar knife-edge battle in the final, then faultless bowling will be their key to victory, especially if expectations of India’s batsmen lying in wait become a reality. The leadership of T20I captain Lasith Malinga would be a big asset in that scenario, with his right-arm fast bowling style often able to neutralise the top order before they build serious momentum. His distinct angle of delivery, though met with controversy in the past, makes him a genuine menace in both types of limited overs cricket.

Other all-round figures of reliability are Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Matthews. Chandimal is a former T20 World Cup runner-up, and was his team’s top batsman in both innings of Sri Lanka’s 2017/18 India tour. Meanwhile, Matthews currently holds the highest Individual Test score among Sri Lanka's active international players, after recording 200 runs against Zimbabwe back in January 2020. He, too, shone in the 2017/18 tour of India, ending the second ODI 111 not out.

Pakistan

Players and coaches aside, few but the most ardent Pakistani cricket fans believe they can win in 2021. Yet there are some surviving members of the 2012 Asia Cup-winning squad who haven't lost the winning touch, and will now utilise every trick in the book. Opposing teams will, in particular, underestimate Pakistan’s fielding setup at their peril, with their discipline in that department enabling them to produce some shock results. Among their most recent examples is the 2019 World Cup win over eventual champions England on their own turf.

If Pakistan are to attain a surprise trophy win, there are certain players who will undoubtedly play a role. Two in particular stand out, the first of whom is Babar Azam, who has been a near-unstoppable force over the past two years since a breakthrough Test century in November 2018. The other is Mohammad Rizwan, who can claim to be perhaps the world’s best wicket-keeper on his day. He can also bat, with one of his more recent standout performances being a haul of 95 runs in the second Test innings at Brisbane in Pakistan’s 2019/20 tour of Australia.

Bangladesh

Since the tournament’s expansion to (usually) accommodate a group stage, Bangladesh have consistently finished in the top four. They've finished as runners-up in three of the last four editions, last doing so in the UAE, a very different environment to their own turf, upon which their other runners-up finishes were attained.

That ability to come close on foreign soil proves Bangladesh’s versatility under more recent regimes. Such versatility is particularly embodied by the likes of Mahmudullah Riyad, with his off-spin bowling methods giving Bangladesh a degree of unpredictability, which can prove pivotal in white-ball action.

A master of seeing out ODI matches, Riyad is the first Bangladeshi cricketer to score a century in the World Cup. Tamim Iqbal is a worthy rival to Riyad for the top batsman accolade in any T20I game, known to aim for big scores regardless of the situation. In the limited-overs format, his personal accolade came in January 2018, when he became the first Bangladeshi batsman to reach 7,000 runs in ODIs.

Afghanistan

Although rank outsiders, Afghanistan shouldn't be underestimated, having made the Super Four in their last Asia Cup appearance. It was also the first time they ended an edition of the Asia Cup with an equal win/loss record, implying their ability to mix it in this tournament is growing steadily. In December 2020, Afghanistan also had the honour of one of their own, Rashid Khan, being named T20 player of the decade.

On the downside, however, they are, as of January 2021, winless in T20I matches against any of the three participants in the inaugural Asia Cup. Naturally, this strengthens expectations that the gap between Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, and the rest of the field will remain as substantial as ever for the foreseeable future.

As of January 2021, Afghanistan’s T20I captain is Asghar Afghan, who has over a decade of international cricketing experience under his belt. He's also the second-ever Afghanistan international cricketer to play in 100 ODI matches, and provides a solid all-round service to his nation as they continue to battle mountainous odds.