Expected Indian Line-up for Asia Cup match against Hong Kong

After a Gruelling tour of England, the Indian team is all set to start their final preparations for the World Cup with Asia Cup. The Indian team is placed in Group A along with Hong Kong & Pakistan. India will play back-to-back games with their first game on 18th September against Hong Kong and second on 19th September against Pakistan. The team will be without the services of regular skipper Virat Kohli who has been rested. Also, the squad has some minor changes as compared to the one which played in England.

The team is likely to have a new core, so we expect a fully new middle-order as compare to the one in the last couple of series. The opening slots are confirmed and will be handled by Captain Rohit Sharma & Vice-Captain Shikhar Dhawan. Meanwhile, the no.3 spot will be handled by KL. Rahul in absence of Virat Kohli, despite a string of low scores Rahul gets the nod because of his rich experience. The no. 4 slot is likely to be assigned to Ambati Rayudu who is coming back to the side on the back of a strong IPL & domestic games performance. With no doubt the no. 5 slot will be assigned to MS.Dhoni once again, along with Kedar Jadhav filling up the finishers slot i.e. no.6. Both Kedar Jadhav & Ambati Rayudu can also provide the team with some overs in the middle, which indeed is a blessing.

Both Bumrah & Bhuvneshwar are set to lead India's pace attack, with Chahal & Kuldeep giving them much needed support in the middle overs through their wrist spin. Due to spin-friendly conditions in UAE, Axar Patel has a significant chance of playing ahead of Hardik Pandya in the first game.