India's Probable Playing XI in the 2018 Asia Cup

The 14th edition of the Asia Cup, will be held in UAE, from 15th September 2018 till 28th September 2018. In this edition, there will be six teams in total - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and a qualifier (UAE or Hong Kong).

These six teams have been divided into two groups of three teams each.

Group A: India; Pakistan; Qualifier

Group B: SriLanka ; Bangladesh; Afghanistan

The 16 member Indian ODI team for the tournament was selected on September 1, 2018. India's best ODI player and captain, Virat Kohli, has been rested. In his absence, Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian side in the tournament.

The 16 member Indian Team for the Asia Cup 2018:

Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan (VC) , KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Khaleel Ahmed.

Except Virat Kohli, no other player has been rested. India is thus going into the tournament with a very strong side, which has a good blend of youth and experience.

In this article we try and select the probable playing XI for India in the tournament.

It is not necessary that the team will remain same in all the matches. However the best possible XI, from the chosen 16 members, is what we tried and picked up.

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#1 Openers : Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

The two have been consistent for a long time

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have been one of the best opening pairs in the history of Indian ODI cricket. At present, they are arguably the best ODI opening pair in the world, especially in subcontinent conditions.

Both of them can score big match winning centuries at a very good strike rate. In the absence of Virat Kohli, the Indian team will look forward to this opening pair for giving good starts in all the matches of the tournament.

The success of the Indian team will depend to a large extent on how the Rohit-Shikhar opening pair performs.

#2 Middle Order Batsmen : KL Rahul, Ambati Rayadu, MS Dhoni(wk) and Kedar Yadav

In the absence of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul is most likely to bat at the number 3 position. In ODIs, Rahul has been most successful at the top of the order. But the presence of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan as openers will not allow Rahul to get his favourite slot at the top.

At number three, he will have a very critical role to play in both in building the innings and in chasing down big targets .

Ambati Rayadu, who had a tremendous IPL 2018 and a good domestic season, should be chosen as the number 4 batsmen of the team. His batting has a perfect mixture of defense and aggression. Because of his recent good form, Rayadu should be chosen ahead of Manish Pandey in the playing XI.

At the number 5 batting slot, MS Dhoni is an automatic choice. Nowadays, he starts off his innings slowly, and then accelerates at the later stages. As a result, batting at the 3rd down position is a better option for him than coming out at number 6. It will give him the opportunity to play more overs, and score match winning centuries.

Kedar Yadav should be the Number 6 batsman of the team. Because of his aggressive batting style, he is ideally suited for the 4th down position.His ability to pick up crucial wickets with the ball, makes him a valuable asset for the ODI team. However his inconsistency is a cause of concern.

#3 All Rounder : Hardik Pandey

At number 7, Hardik Pandey is an automatic choice. He is a match winner both with his bat and with the ball in subcontinent conditions. His ability to score some quickfire runs and hit huge sixes makes him a big asset for the team. With the ball also he plays the role of the third seamer and picks up valuable wickets in the middle and death overs.

#4 Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal

Bhuvi is returning after an injury

India has the best ODI bowling lineup in the world at present.

The pacers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, are two of the very best in the world. Bhuvneshwar's swing with the new ball is lethal and Bumrah is unarguably the best death bowler in the world at present. So both of them are automatic selections in the playing XI.

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal should be the two spinners in the playing XI. Both these spinners are big match winners. Their consistency in picking up wickets in the middle overs is just unbelievable. They have won India many ODIs since making their debut.

If this great bowling unit performs according to its potential, then India will be firm favourites to win the tournament.