Asia Cup 2018: Analyzing all the squads ahead of the tournament

Asia Cup 2018 will be played from 15 September 2018 to 28 September 2018 which will include 6 nations and will be hosted by UAE with all matches to be held in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Teams participating in this tournament includes India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong. Hong Kong qualified for playing in Asia Cup by beating hosts UAE in the final of recently concluded Qualifiers.

This time the format of the tournament has changed a bit as teams are divided into 2 groups of three each from which top two teams will qualify for the Super Four round. All teams will play each other once in the Super Four rounds and the top two teams will then play the final on 28 September 2018.

This Asia Cup is being considered as one of the most exciting as all teams are in good form. India and Pakistan are considered to be favourites but the rest of the teams cannot be neglected also.

Squads for all the teams are announced and we will analyze the squad of all teams and predict their starting XI.

India

Indian team is one of the favourites of winning this tournament. While regular captain Virat Kohli has been given rest, Indian opener Rohit Sharma will lead the team. The other openers in the team are Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul. Dhawan has had an average tour of England by getting starts but not converting them and Rahul was also not able to impress much.

The middle order constitutes of Manish Pandey, who has had a brilliant Quadrangular series with India B, Ambati Rayudu, who had fantastic IPL but was left out of tour of England as he failed in Yo-Yo test, and Kedar Jadhav, who was injured in the first match of IPL itself and managed only 30 runs in four innings in quadrangular series.

The squad includes two wicket-keepers MS Dhoni and Dinesh Kartik. While MS Dhoni last played in ODI series vs England where he was accused of playing too slowly and Karthik who played 2 Tests but was not able to contribute with bat significantly. MS Dhoni will definitely play as wk in the side while Karthik can be included as a pure batsman only.

Hardik Pandya is the only all-rounder in the squad. He had a decent tour of England and is an automatic inclusion in starting XI.

The bowling departments consist of 2 wrist spinners, Kuldeep and Chahal, both of them were in great form in England tour and would love to carry it on and Axar Patel as a left-arm spinner who is unlikely to get a place in the squad. The fast bowling will be lead by Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, who was not part of England tour due to injury, and Jasprit Bumrah, who has been in fantastic form in the 3 test matches he has played in England. The other two fast bowlers in the squad are Shardul Thakur and the young left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed, but these two are more likely to warm the benches.

Predicted XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma(c), Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik / Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni(wk), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar,Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Jasprit Bumarah.

Pakistan

Pakistan is also one of the favourites to win this tournament considering their recent form in International Cricket.

The openers in the squad are Fakhar Zaman, who is fresh of an ODI Double Hundred and is in brilliant form, Imam-ul-Haq, who was also in good form in Zimbabwe tour. Shan Masood will act as a backup opener who is yet to make his debut in limited overs cricket.

The middle order consists of Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, and Asif Ali, all of whom have been in great form recently and can be a threat to any team. Meanwhile, Harris Sohail has also returned back to the squad after recovering from illness and will add furthermore competition. Sarfaraz Ahmed, captain and wk of the team is also in decent form and will further strengthen the middle order.

The squad consists of two all-rounders Faheem Ashraf, seam bowling all-rounder, and Muhammad Nawaz, an option of left-arm spin. Both of them have had decent PSL and tour of Zimbabwe and will be looking to make most of this opportunity.

Shadab Khan is the lone spinner in the squad who has been great since his debut. Pakistan has strongest fast bowling attack in the tournament with Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan having a decent amount of experience and, Usman Khan Shinwari and Shaheen Afridi are the young guns of the team who have been lethal some of the times and also add variety to their bowling attack.

Predicted XI: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed(c & wk), Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi/Junaid Khan.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan team is not as strong as they used to be some years ago but no one can take them lightly as they have the players who have the capability of winning the match single-handedly.

The openers in the squad are Kusal Perera and Upul Tharanga, who have not been in great form recently but have the chance to turn the tide in this tournament. The other opener is Danushka Gunathilaka who is back in the squad after serving the six-match suspension and he is also not in great form.

Middle order consists of Mathews and Kusal Mendis, both of whom have been in decent form recently. Dinesh Chandimal is also in the squad but is not fully fit and is not certain in playing XI.

All-rounders in the team are Thisara Perera and Dasun Shanaka. Dasun Shanaka was in great form in Sri Lanka's domestic T20 tournament while Perara is not in great form and will be looking to start afresh.

The spin bowling department is lead by of Akila Dananjaya, who has been in great form recently and the other spin bowlers are Dilruwan Perera and Amila Aponso, both of them do not have much experience in limited overs cricket. Fast bowling department consists of Malinga, who is returning to International cricket after a long time, Suranga Lakmal, who has been in decent form recently, Dushmantha Chameera and Kasun Rajitha, both of them do not have enough experience and not much stats to show.

Predicted XI: Kusal Perara, Upul Tharanga, Kusal Mendis,Angelo Mathews(c), Dinesh Chandimal(if available)/Danush Gunathaliaka, Dasun Shanaka,Thisara Perara, Akila Dananjaya(will join later)/Dilruwan Perara,Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga and Dusmantha Chameera.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh may not have performed to their expectations this season but ODI series win in West Indies would give them some confidence and given their growth in recent years, they can prove to be a tough competitor in this tournament. They will also be hoping that Shakib Al Hasan gets fits soon and the uncertainty over his fitness gets over quickly.

Openers in the squad are Tamim Iqbal and Litton Das, both of them were in great form during the tour of WI and will be eager to carry on from there.

The middle order will be lead by Mushfiqur Rahim, one of the best batsmen in the team who will also handle wicket-keeping duties and he will get support from Soumya Sarkar, who has not been at his best in recent times,Mominul Haque, who was included recently in the squad and some others inexperienced and young players like Mohammad Mithun, Ariful Haque and Nazmul Hossain Shanto.

Bangladesh has two experienced all-rounders in the squad namely Shakib-Al-Hasan and Mahmudullah, who have been in decent form. But Shakib-Al-Hasan will be available only if he is fully fit. The other all-rounders in the squad are Abu-Hider-Rony and Mosaddek Hossain who have not established themselves yet.

Mehidy Hasan, the young and impressive off-spinner and Nazmul Islam, are the only proper spin bowler in the squad which otherwise contains many decent spin-bowling options in the All-rounders. The Fast-Bowling will be lead by the captain himself, Mashrafe Mortaza, who has performed decently in WI and will be aided by experienced Rubel Hossain and the young and emerging Mustafizur Rahman.

Predicted XI: Tamim Iqbal, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushifiqur Rahim(wk), Shakib Al Hasan(if available) /Mominul Haque, Mosadek Hossain, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Rubel Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan has been the most improved team in the recent times and will be eager to give tougher competitions this time to the other teams. They have been in great form in limited overs cricket in recent times and would be looking to capitalize on that.

Mohammad Shahzad, the entertaining wk and batsman, and Ishanullah Janat will most probably form the opening pair. Young Munir Ahmed has been included as a backup for Mohammad Shahzad.

The middle order will be lead by their Captain Asghar Afghan and he will be supported by decently experienced Najibullah Zadran and Hashmatullah Shahidi.

All-rounders Mohammad Nabi, the most experienced player in the squad, Samiullah Shenwari, and Gulbadin Naib will have responsibility for handling the middle order and also chip in with few overs. Javed Ahmadi and Rahmat Shah are also one of the experienced players in the squad.

Spin department will be lead by Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, both of them have proved their mettle. Sharafuddin Ashraf, the left arm wrist spinner will add variety to the spin bowling attack. Aftab Alam will lead the pace attack and Sayed Shirzad, the left arm pacer will add variety. Young Wafadar, who is in line to make his ODI Debut is the third pacer in the squad.

Predicted XI: Mohammad Shahzad(wk), Ishanullah Janat, Rahmat Shah, Hashhmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan (c) ,Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Aftab Alam and Wafadar/Sayed Shirzad.

Hong Kong

Though squad is not announced officially for Hong Kong, it is most likely that most players will be from the squad that played qualifiers. Hong Kong has qualified for the tournament by beating UAE in the finals of qualifiers. Though Hong Kong journey in qualifiers was not smooth as they were beaten by underdogs Malaysia in the first match itself but then came back strongly and eventually won the trophy and qualified for the main tournament.

The opening slot will most likely be filled by Nizakat Khan and Anshuman Rath who formed a brilliant opening partnership in finals of the qualifiers.

The middle-order will probably include Babar Hayat, Kinchit Shah, Aizaz Khan, and Christopher Carter. The other batsman in the squad is Cameron McAulsan and Waqas Khan.

The wicket-keeping duties will most probably be handled by Scott McKechnie as he done it in the qualifiers.

The two all-rounders in the squad are Jhatavedh Subramanyan, who bowls leg break, and Tanvir Afzal, who bowls medium pace.

The spin bowlers are Ehsan Khan and Nadeem Ahmed. On the other hand, fast bowlers in the squad are Ehsan Nawaz and Arshad Mohammad who will be supported by medium pacer all-rounders.

Predicted XI: Nizakat Khan, Anshuman Rath(c), Babar Hayat, Kinchit Shah, Christopher Carter, Ehsan Khan, Scott McKechnie(wk), Aizaz Khan, Tanvir Afzal, Nadeem Ahmed and Ehsan Nawaz.