Asia Cup 2018: India's Predicted XI against Pakistan

India will be starting their Asia Cup tourney with an opening match against Hong Kong on the 18th of September. But, the match that is likely to get all the attention is their second group match against Pakistan on the 19th of September. The clash is expected to be bigger than ever with Pakistan enjoying some good form and India missing their ODI stalwart Virat Kohli.

The game against Pakistan might be a hectic affair for India as they will be playing their group matches back to back on 18th and 19th against Hong Kong and Pakistan respectively. Thus, to save their players from fatigue, India will be unveiling their strongest side in the game against Pakistan while giving the youngsters their bit of chances in the game against Hong Kong.

Thus, let us look at India's predicted to face Pakistan on 19th of September.

Indian Squad for Asia Cup 2018: Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (WK), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, and K Khaleel Ahmed.

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#1 Openers: Rohit Sharma (C) and Shikhar Dhawan

The Dhawan-Rohit affair has been the story of the Indian opening slot for quite a few years now. Besides, the opening slot is least likely to be tinkered ahead of a crucial clash against Pakistan unless and until something unusual catches Dhawan or Rohit in the game against Hong Kong, which is a day minus the Pakistan clash.

Rohit Sharma, the skipper in the absence of Kohli, has been India's first choice opener in the limited overs scheme of cricket. Barring some unforeseen surprises, Rohit will be facing the opening music for India in the game against Pakistan as well. Hitman has been the pillar of the Indian top-order in the shorter formats of the game and will continue to be so against Pakistan as well. Thus, sans Kohli, Rohit will be India's acknowledged batting pillar in the game against Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Shikhar will look to accompany Rohit in the opening department as usual. It will turn out to be a crucial game for Dhawan who hasn't had a good last three months.

Thus, it will be a Dhawan-Rohit pair against Pakistan to lay a solid foundation in the outset phase of the innings.

#2 Middle-Order: KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, and MS Dhoni (WK)

Sans Virat Kohli, the middle-order calls for a lot of options out there in the middle. Right from KL Rahul to Manish Pandey, the prospects are plenty.

The biggest question is: Who will assume the No.3 spot in the absence of Kohli? The prospective No.3 candidate for the clash against Pakistan seems KL Rahul. He has shown a lot of promise in the recent past and looks in good touch with a variety of shots in his arsenal. Hence, his place in the side as a No.3 slotted batsman looks certain.

Again there are a lot of candidates for the No.4 slot. But it seems quite inevitable that Ambati Rayudu will play in the match against Pakistan. Rayudu came back to the fray with an exciting IPL that he had. He made his way back to the Indian squad for the series against England, but a Yo-Yo test failure irked his exclusion. Nonetheless, he got his deserved break for the Asia Cup. Thus, with a fair amount of experience on his side, Rayudu will field in the No.4 place in the game against Pakistan.

MS Dhoni has been under a lot of fire for his inability to rotate strike and score runs at a not-so-good strike-rate. However, he will prove to be a key player for India in the absence of Kohli. Besides, with most of the innings to be dominated by spinners, MS seems to be the best candidate behind the stumps who could hand in some inputs to the spinners as well. Moreover, given a platform to bat higher up the order, Dhoni could prove to be a lethal entity. Hence, his place in the playing XI against Pakistan.

#3 All-rounders: Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya

Considering the nature of the pitch, it seems quite evident that Kedar Jadhav might make his place in the playing XI against Pakistan as a batting all-rounder. Jadhav has been a more-than-good batsman for India in the ODIs who could prove to be handy in the lower middle-order. Thus, with all-round abilities up his sleeve, Jadhav seems a good client for India's lower middle-order.

With some good batting and bowling skills in his armory, Hardik Pandya will have a significant role to play against Pakistan. Despite his lack of performance in the recent past, he could be trusted to give India some vital breakthroughs in the batting as well as bowling department. Hence, Pandya is expected to have a place in the team against Pakistan.

#4 Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal

The spin duo, known as Kul-Cha, will be India's premier bowlers in the crucial clash against Pakistan. The spin twins have been the leading figure of the Indian spin department for quite some time now. Besides, Kuldeep and Chahal have been complementing each other quite well.

Moreover, considering the nature of the pitch in Dubai, Kuldeep and Chahal will have a prominent part to play in the game against Pakistan. Thus, the duo is expected to maintain their place in the playing XI for the match against Pakistan.

#5 Pacers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah will be starting afresh in the encounter against Pakistan. It is highly likely that the duo will be rested for the match against Hong Kong so as to keep them match-fresh for the clash against Pakistan. Hence, these two bowling veterans will form a formidable pace duet in the game against Pakistan.

With a reputation of the best death bowlers in the current scheme of the ODI circuit, Bhuvi and Bumrah will make this line-up more threatening for Pakistan. Thus, with minimal doubts, the pace duo is expected to have a place in the playing XI against Pakistan.