Dubai, Aug 28 (IANS): Legendary Pakistani seamer Wasim Akram has said that the Indian squad for the Asia Cup is very balanced and they are a strong contender for the trophy.

"Team India is trying different things and new players, especially in the T20 format. Indian squad is very balanced. However, it won't be easy for India as other teams are equally good."

"Though the Pakistani team is top in ranking nowadays, I want to remind you that Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup last time, while India couldn't even qualify for the finals. The India-Pakistan game is very important, but you can't rule out other teams like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, even Afghanistan has a surprise element," said Akram.

On the question of the Asia Cup being shifted from Pakistan after the objection by the BCCI, he said that politics and sports should be kept away from each other.

"People-to-people contact is very important, and average Indians and Pakistanis do love each other."

On Sunday, the ACC announced that Super 11 Fantasy League will be the title sponsor of the Asia Cup 2023, the 50-over tournament which will see Asia's top teams battle it out for glory starting on August 30 in Multan and will be hosted across Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Omar Khan, CEO of Super 11 said, "It is with great pride that Super 11 has signed on to be the Title sponsor of the Asia Cup, with the growing popularity of cricket tournaments like the Asia Cup allow fans to see the best teams battle it out in the longer format of the game. Already the buzz around the Asia Cup and the India vs Pakistan games is at an all-time high and we are confident that this association will help in bringing fans closer to the game that we all love."

Also present at the ceremony was ACC GM Finance and Operations Thusith Perera.