"The template has to be set at the Asia Cup, and they should stick with it for the entire World Cup as well" - Harbhajan Singh

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has vouched for Team India to play an aggressive brand of cricket in the 2023 Asia Cup and maintain the same template for the 2023 ODI World Cup as well. The Men in Blue have often come in for criticism for their defensive mindset or their lack of clarity and conviction in their approach in white-ball cricket.

Their desire for aggressive cricket in the shortest format was evident in the build-up to the 2022 T20 World Cup, but the team failed to hold onto it when it mattered the most. Similarly, India have been performing well across bilateral series, particularly at home, crossing the 300-run threshold multiple times courtesy of their aggressive approach.

It remains to be seen whether they can translate the template into big tournaments such as the Asia Cup and the World Cup.

Opining that Team India should decide on a template and stay true to it over the course of the white-ball season, Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel:

"India have to play with a tone in the Asia Cup, that they wish to play in the World Cup as well. Now the team has to decide what brand of cricket they have to play. Whether they want to attack right from the start, or divide the innings into two or three parts and approach each of them differently. The template has to be set here, and they should stick with it in the entire World Cup."

Team India announced their squad for the 2023 Asia Cup on Monday, 21 August. The 17-man squad marks the return of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, but leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal missed out.

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"In my opinion, Team India should play attacking cricket" - Harbhajan Singh

The 2023 ODI World Cup set to be held in India, is bound to yield high totals, much like during the home season at the start of the year. Playing attacking cricket on flat surfaces will be the go-to approach for several teams, and the Men in Blue will be planning to do the same.

Harbhajan insisted that Team India have the resources to play full-fledged attacking cricket.

"In my opinion, Team India should play attacking cricket. There are plenty of attacking bowlers and batters in the squad, so that is the right way to pick up wins," he said.

"In ODIs, you should not think to play middle overs casually, you can play attacking cricket there as well because you have depth in the batting," Harbhajan added.

India won the Asia Cup the last time it was hosted by Sri Lanka in 2010. The Men in Blue last won the continental competition in 2018 under Rohit Sharma's captaincy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).