Asia Cup 2018: India's Predicted XI against Bangladesh

India got off to a testing start in the Asia Cup 2018 as they scraped past Hong Kong by 26 runs in their opening encounter - a fixture that was expected to end in a giant-killing after Hong Kong notched up a record 174-run opening partnership.

However, the match against Pakistan proved to be more than enough to restore confidence in the Men in Blue. Pakistan, who had previously trounced Hong Kong by 8 wickets, suffered a drubbing at the hands of India, who convincingly defeated them by 8 wickets in a lopsided Asia Cup group league encounter on Wednesday.

Consequently, the Indian team qualified for the Super Four stage as the group winners from Group A and will now face Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan in the next round.

Their upcoming match is versus Bangladesh which will be held tomorrow at the Dubai International Stadium.

Having said that, let us take a look at how India could line up for their first Super Four encounter.

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Openers (Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan)

India v Sri Lanka - ICC Champions Trophy

India's opening slot has been usurped by Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan for quite some time and the duo has definitely done justice to the long-held status. Having racked up a number of memorable partnerships, the pair is unlikely to be fiddled with ahead of India's first Super Four clash.

Rohit Sharma played an impressive knock of 52 against Pakistan as he smashed the pacers all over the park before falling prey to Shadab Khan's brilliant delivery. Meanwhile, Dhawan was splendid in the face of Hong Kong as he scored a much-needed century to help India prevail over the associates.

Middle order (Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik)

England v India - 3rd ODI: Royal London One-Day Series

Both Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik have managed a starting spot in the first two matches ahead of KL Rahul and Manish Pandey, much to our surprise.

Nevertheless, neither of them has done anything wrong thus far and will most likely retain their respective positions as such. Following Virat Kohli's anticipated exclusion, this is the ideal time for the brace to show their true mettle and cement their places in the Indian squad.

Wicketkeeper and all-rounder (MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav)

England v India - 3rd ODI: Royal London One-Day Series

Bearing in mind MS Dhoni's immense experience and indispensable leadership, there is absolutely no chance that he is going to be kept out from the starting lineup unless the 37-year-old veteran is deemed unfit.

As for Kedar Jadhav, he looked excellent in both the Asia Cup matches, chalking up a vital 28 versus Hong Kong and dismantling Pakistan's middle order via 3 crucial wickets.

India have also been dealt a huge blow with Hardik Pandya's unfortunate injury in the last match. It will be interesting to see who gets a chance at his pace in the playing XI.

Spinners (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal)

England & India Net Sessions

The spin duo of Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav will look to continue their blistering form after the pair picked up a combined total of 5 wickets against Hong Kong, helping India snatch a win from the jaws of defeat.

All the same, Kuldeep was only able to manage a single scalp versus Pakistan while Chahal went wicketless on Wednesday. However, in all fairness to them, several catches were dropped off their bowling.

Pacers (Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed)

Australia v India - Game 1

After enduring a disappointing match against Hong Kong, Bhuvneshwar Kumar pulled up his socks versus the arch-rivals Pakistan to topple the openers early in the game and only allow 15 runs in the 7 overs he bowled.

Jasprit Bumrah also marked his return in a remarkable fashion after being left out in the cold for the game against Hong Kong as he claimed two wickets and restricted Pakistan to a cheap total.

Speaking of Khaleel Ahmed, the youngster was exceptional for India in their opening encounter as his 3 wickets turned out to be climacteric at the end of the match. We could very well see him be drafted in the starting XI as a replacement for the injured Hardik Pandya.