Best XI of Asia Cup 2018

Indian won the 2018 Asia Cup by defeating Bangladesh on the last ball of the final. The Men in Blue were clinical in all the three departments throughout the tournament.

There were some exemplary performances given by players from every team in the Asia Cup. Mushfiqur Rahim's 144 in the first match, Rashid Khan's whirlwind fifty, Mohammad Shahzad's hundred against India were all a treat to watch. Liton Das played a brilliant knock in the final but still, Bangladesh couldn't end on the victorious side.

Some players made their debut in the Asia Cup, Deepak Chahar and Khaleel Ahmed from India and Shaheen Afridi from Pakistan to name a few. Khaleel Ahmed and Afridi were brilliant with the ball.

There were some players who made comebacks to their national side and performed brilliantly. Malinga, in his comeback match, took two wickets in his first over. Jadeja, against Bangladesh, took 4 wickets. Ambati Raydu and Kedar Jadhav also made their comeback to the national side in style.

There were some lows in the tournament as well. Tamim Iqbal got injured in the first match of the Asia Cup and had to be ruled out of the tournament. Hardik Pandya also injured his lower back and had to return home.

Let us look at the best XI from the Asia Cup 2018. This eleven is entirely based on the performances in the Asia Cup 2018.

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Openers: Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

Both the Indian openers were in terrific form throughout the tournament. They were the top 2 run scorers of the tournament. Rohit scored 317 runs at an average of 105.66. He also hit 13 sixes which was the highest in the tournament. Shikhar Dhawan scored 342 runs at an average of 68.40. He also scored 2 centuries in the tournament.

Fakhar Zaman had a terrible outing in this Asia Cup. Imam ul Haq played a few handy knocks and scored 225 runs at an average of 56.25. He was Pakistan's highest run scorer and scored 3 fifties in the tournament.

Bangladesh openers struggled throughout the tournament. But Mehidy Hasan and Liton Das stitched together an opening partnership of 120 in the final with latter scoring a hundred. Hong Kong openers had a record partnership against India but they struggled against Pakistan.

Mohammad Shahzad also had a decent Asia Cup, scoring 268 runs at an average of 53.60. He scored a fantastic hundred against India which is why Afganistan achieved a decent total in that match.

But, he was no match to the Indian pair who were just brilliant with the bat.

Middle Order:

Ambati Raydu: With both Shikhar and Rohit in full form, he didn't get many opportunities with the bat. He got a chance against Hong Kong when Rohit got out early and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands and scored a half-century.

In all, he scored 175 runs at an average of 43.75. In the match against Afganistan when the openers were rested he opened for India and scored run a ball fifty. He will be the number 3 in this side.

Hashmatullah Shahidi: He was the consistent run scorer for Afghanistan throughout the Asia Cup. He scored 263 runs at an average of 65.75. He scored 3 fifties in the tournament with 97* being the highest. He played number 4 in the tournament and will be the number 4 in this team also.

Shoaib Malik: He played quite a few good knocks in the tournament. In the Super-4 match against India, he scored a valuable 70 to take Pakistan to a respectable total but India chased that easily. In the Super-4 match against Afganistan, he took Pakistan to victory with a splendid half-century. He was awarded man of the match for that effort.

In all, he scored 211 runs at an average of over 70. For Pakistan, he did the dual role of a middle-order batsman when wickets fell early and also played the role of the finisher. In this team, he will play at number 6. If needed he can also roll his arm over and give a few overs.

Wicket Keeper:

MS Dhoni didn't get many opportunities with the bat. Mushfiqur Rahim played a blinder and probably the best ODI innings of his life against Sri Lanka by scoring 144. He also played the match-winning knock against Pakistan in the virtual semi-final encounter, unfortunately, he got out on 99.

Rahim scored consistently for Bangladesh and scored 302 runs at an average of 60.40. Sarfraz had a below-par tournament and since Shahzad opens for Afganistan and the openers' slot is taken by the Indian openers, Rahim will be the wicketkeeper in this side.

Babar Azam: He didn't look at his best in this Asia Cup, though he did contribute with a few valuable knocks. He scored just 156 runs at an average of 31.20.

All-rounders:

Shakib Al Hasan didn't have a great outing with the bat in this Asia Cup but he picked 7 wickets at an average of 24.57.

Mohammad Nabi played a vital fifty knock against India and was a consistent wicket-taker in the middle overs. He picked 5 wickets in the Asia Cup 2018. He scored 134 runs at an average of 26.80 but at a strike rate of 107.20 which is impressive when the scores of 250 were considered par throughout the tournament.

Thisara Perera picked a fifer against Afganistan and in all picked 6 wickets in the tournament. Since Srilanka was knocked out in the group stage and he got to play just 2 matches.

Kedar Jadhav is the man with the golden arm. He picked some crucial wickets in the tournament specifically in the group stage match against Pakistan and the final against Bangladesh. He picked 6 wickets in 6 matches. He didn't get many opportunities with the bat but took India home in the finals

Ravindra Jadeja made a dream comeback to the ODI side after quite some time by picking 4 wickets in the first match. He took 7 wickets at an average of 22.29 in the tournament. He couldn't finish the match against Afganistan when 1 was needed from 2 balls, he got out by giving a catch to deep midwicket. In the final, he took India very close to the victory. He will be the all-rounder in the side.

Spinners:

ICC World Twenty20 India 2016: South Africa v Afghanistan

As this Asia Cup was held in UAE, the pitches supported the spinners. Spinners were very economical. Some teams in some matches had 3 main spinners in the playing eleven.

Rashid Khan: He was not only exceptional with the bowl but also played handy knocks down the order. He had the best strike rate for any player in the Asia Cup. He scored 87 runs at an average of 43.5 and strike rate of over 142. He added crucial runs for Afganistan down the order at a brisk pace. In the group stage match against Bangladesh, he even scored a quickfire fifty. In bowling, he was impressive as always. He picked 10 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 17.20. He will be the lead spinner in this side.

Kuldeep Yadav continued his form even in the Aisa Cup. He picked some very crucial wickets. Batsmen were not able to pick his wrong one and got out. In all, he picked 10 wickets at an average of 23.70. He, along with Rashid, will be the main spinner and their job will be to get wickets in the middle overs.

Yuzuvendra Chahal didn't look at his best and didn't trouble the batsmen very much. Still, he picked 6 wickets at an average of 32.83.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman picked 7 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 23.57. He was used in the powerplay and was economical and picked wickets.

Seamers:

Seamers didn't have much help from the conditions in UAE. But some seamers did deliver stellar performances.

Malinga made a comeback to the ODIs after a long time. Though it looked like he has gained a lot of weight, he bowled brilliantly for Srilanka. He swung the bowl and also bowled his special yorkers.

Left-arm seamer for Pakistan Shaheen Afridi looked great. He can bowl yorkers at pace, also he has a good slower one.

Left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed had an impressive debut against Hongkong and he picked 3 wickets in the first game. In the second game as well he was looking good and batsmen were not comfortable against him. He looks like a good future prospect for India.

Mustafizur Rahman was exceptional in this Asia Cup. He was at his best again and picked some crucial wickets throughout the tournament. It was his performance which took Bangladesh into the finals. He picked 10 wickets at an average of 18.50.

Junaid Khan played just one game and was phenomenal with the ball. He picked 4 wickets in the match Super-4 match against Bangladesh.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was making a comeback after an injury and looked good. He picked wickets upfront with the new ball. He picked 6 wickets at an average of 29.33.

Jasprit Bumrah was the best seam bowler of the tournament. He was economical even in the death overs. He picked 8 wickets at an impressive average of just 16.

Final XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Raydu, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Shoab Malik, Ravindra Jadeja, Rashid Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman and Jasprit Bumrah