Asia Cup 2018: Without Kohli, this playing XI can still beat Pakistan

The India-Pakistan match is one of the most celebrated rivalries on the cricket pitch.The last time the arch-rivals met was in the ICC Champions Trophy on 18 June 2017. Pakistan thrashed India as they made 338 runs at the loss of 4 wickets and bowled India out for a meagre 150. It is revenge time for the Men in Blue now. The roads are expected to bear a deserted look on Wednesday as the two nations lock horns after a long gap. If we take a look at the head to head results at the Asia Cup, India has won on 6 occasions (5 ODIs and one T20 International) while the Green Army have won 5 times, with one of the matches ending with no result. Coming to the present -- With Virat Kohli not playing in the tournament, the onus lies on Rohit Sharma to lead the team and avenge the defeat of 2017. The pressure of playing in an India-Pakistan match is immensely high on players of both teams and it is reflected on the pitch. In this article, we take a look at the Indian side which is capable of winning even without the presence of India's most successful batsman, Captain Kohli.#1 BatsmenOpeners: Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will open for India and the other opening combination that is available for India being K L Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan. But looking at the start that Sharma and Dhawan gave in the match against Hong Kong, there is no way India is going to try Rahul and Dhawan as openers for the match against Pakistan.Middle-order: Considering Sharma and Dhawan will open, there are plenty of options available for India when it comes to middle-order. It includes KL Rahul, Kedar Jhadav, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey and Dinesh Karthik.Ambati Rayudu who missed the Indian tour to England because of a failed Yo-Yo test is definitely getting a place in middle-order by virtue of his knock of 60 runs against Hong Kong.Manish Pandey who scored 306 runs in 4 matches of the Quadrangular series between India A, India B, Australia A and South Africa A will be coming at No. 4. Also, he was unbeaten throughout the series and led India B to the title under his captaincy. He is more likely to replace Dinesh Karthik.Manish Pandey raising his bat after hitting a century against Australia AKedar Jhadav who was unbeaten in the game against Hong Kong is likely to come in at No. 5. He is expected to be given a chance over KL Rahul and Dinesh Karthik for the fact that he can also be used as a part-time bowler.#2 Wicket Keeper: Mahendra Singh DhoniIndian squad for Asia Cup includes two wicket-keepers, i.e. Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik. Dinesh Karthik who was in the playing XI against Hong Kong was taken as a middle-order batsman and for the match against Pakistan, he might be rested to give Manish Pandey a chance. So no surprise Dhoni will be the wicket-keeper for India. There are many advantages to having him in the side such as an expeditious wicket-keeping, experience, Power-hitting and a finisher.#3 All-rounder: Hardik PandyaHardik Pandya in action against Pakistan in CT finalIndian squad comprises of only one all-rounder - Hardik Pandya who was rested against Hong Kong. He was rested so he can stay fresh for the Pakistan encounter. Pandya was the only batsman who gave a fight to Pakistani bowlers in the Champions Trophy final and considering that performance of his, he will be replaced for Shardul Thakur in the playing XI.#4 Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra ChahalThe duo of Chahal and Yadav will be the two spinners in the Indian side. India would love to have this combination of left-arm chinaman and right-arm legbreaker as UAE pitches are spinner friendly. The two played against Hong Kong also and took a combined five-wicket haul.#5 Seamers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar and BumrahBumrah to replace Khaleel Ahmed in the match against PakistanBhuvneshwar who looked out of form against Hong Kong will still be a part of India's playing XI because of his experience. Khaleel Ahmed who debuted in yesterday's match and took three wickets will be replaced by Jasprit Bumrah, the most aggressive bowler India have.

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