Young sports enthusiasts feel Nepal can be a competitor for Pak in Asia Cup: Survey

New Delhi: The much-awaited Asia Cup ODI cricket tournament is all set to begin with hosts Pakistan taking on first-timers Nepal in Multan on Wednesday (August 30).

In a snap poll conducted by CVoter, around 57 per cent of sports enthusiasts in India in the age group of 18-24 years are of the opinion that Nepal can be a competitor for Pakistan, while those in the age group of 45-54 years are more pessimistic about the same. The survey had a sample size of 1,897.

Most of the respondents believe that Pakistan skipper and star batter Babar Azam can yield good results for his team, while Shadab Khan remains the least favoured among the choices provided.

When asked about Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain of the Indian women's cricket team, middle-aged and the respondents residing in urban areas seemed to be highly familiar with the cricketer, though she is not much popular among the female respondents, the survey showed.

The survey also showed that in spite of being sports enthusiasts, majority of the respondents are unaware about Indian chess Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, who recently finished second in the FIDE World Cup after losing to top-ranked Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the final in Baku, Azerbaijan.