Asia Cup 2018: 3 bench players whom India might consider against Afghanistan 

The Indian team has been enjoying a good run in the Asia Cup 2018 so far. Having beat their arch-rivals Pakistan for the second time in the tournament, the Indian team has managed to remain unbeaten in the tourney so far.

The Super Four win against Pakistan and Afghanistan's loss to Bangladesh confirmed India's berth in the finals which is scheduled to take place in Dubai on 28th of September. However, India is still left with one Super Four game to go against Afghanistan which is expected to be a dead-rubber as the result of the match will have no implications on any of the teams.

Thus, with a secured place in finals, India might help their cause of warming up their benched players meanwhile giving rest to some of their key players before the finals.

Hence, in this feature, we will have a look at three benched players that the Indian team might try in the game against Afghanistan.

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#1 KL Rahul

KL has been in good form in the recent past

KL Rahul has been an essential part of the Indian ODI setup for quite some time now. He has been in and out of the side owing to some chopping and changing done by the team management in the recent past. KL was expected to be a part of India's middle-order schemes in the ongoing Asia Cup. But, the team management preferred Dinesh Karthik over Rahul as Ambati Rayudu was guaranteed to play.

However, after having already fixed the berth for the finals, India might give KL the deserved game time in their last Super Four fixture against Afghanistan. With no pressure on the cards, India might freshen up their benched players ahead of the finals in case they are in need of one. Thus, in all likelihood, KL might leave the bench and have a place in the final XI for the game against Afghanistan. Besides, it might also instill a sense of confidence in KL which will, in turn, keep him up for the coming matches.

Also, with KL Rahul having assumed the role of a top-order batsman, the team management might well think of resting Shikhar Dhawan. Although the chances are very slim, it could be a possibility.

#2 Siddarth Kaul

Siddarth Kaul has been around the Indian set-up for past few months. BCCI didn't consider Kaul for the Asia Cup 2018 in first place. But, Shardul Thakur's injury concerns helped the cause for Kaul. Siddarth has been a decent prospect for India in the limited overs set-up. Besides, with some extra amount of pace, he promises to make it big at the international level. However, he has got a limited amount of opportunities thus far.

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Nonetheless, Indian team management might include Kaul in the coming dead-rubber against Afghanistan while resting some of their key bowlers. Kaul might replace one of Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Jasprit Bumrah in the wake of managing the workload of Indian bowlers. Kumar has played all the matches in this Asia Cup so far.

Thus, India might give Bhuvi an adequate amount rest before the finals which in turn will make way for Kaul in the playing XI against Afghanistan.

#3 Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey stormed back to the Indian squad after an exceptional performance for India-B side in the Quadrangular series. In the Quadrangular series, Pandey looked good with the bat as he ended up as the highest run-scorer with 306 runs to his name, and was also expected to help his place in the playing XI from the word go. However, Ambati Rayadu and Dinesh Karthik were the favoured choices.

But, Pandey is expected to find a place in the game against Afghanistan with India having already reached the finals. The unlucky one to miss might be any one of Rayudu or Karthik. Although both the aforementioned players have fared good with the bat, India might choose to help Pandey with game time in the last Super Four fixture.