Asia Cup | India’s Predicted XI for match against Hong Kong in Dubai

09/18/2018

The Hong Kong-Pakistan match was just a reminder of the gulf international and associate cricket, but the former will try to put that behind against India. On the other hand, the Rohit Sharma-led side will have a chance to rest some of their players before playing Pakistan less than 24 hours later.

Openers

Rohit Sharma: The stand-in Indian skipper has been one of the finest ODI batsmen of the current time and is an outright match-winner. However, he has a bigger role to play this time around for the fact that he won’t have the cushion of Virat Kohli in the middle-order and cannot be too adventurous at the start of the innings.

Shikhar Dhawan: After a terrible England tour, Dhawan will have a chance to redeem himself and the Asia Cup encounter against Hong Kong comes as the perfect opportunity for him. He, alongside Rohit, has the role of steering the team and the absence of Kohli means he can’t play any rash shots this time around.

Middle-order

KL Rahul: It is a temporary position for Rahul as once Kohli is back in the team, the former is anyway going to change his role in the team. However, his hot-and-cold form should be a worry for the team and he won’t have a better opportunity than this to make a statement of intent.

Ambati Rayudu: The Hyderabad player’s strike rate is a paltry 76.28 which is not ideal for a batsman batting lower down the order and considering the fact that most of his runs have come as an opener for Chennai Super Kings in the last IPL, it is a good idea to bat him at No. 4 instead of No.5 or No.6.

MS Dhoni: MS has been very vocal about batting at No.4 but letting the lower order carrying all the load of finishing off the games is a tad unfair. Also, letting MS bat at No. 5 means you are allowing him the cushion of playing some balls instead of asking him to go gung-ho straight away.

All-rounder

Kedar Jadhav: The pocket dynamite from Maharashtra is not the ideal player for India to carry the tag of the finisher but his slow unorthodox bowling allows India the option of a sixth bowler. In the dust and heat of Dubai, that is a must have for any team, but India will need him to score some runs as well.

Hardik Pandya: Despite being too inconsistent a player, Hardik is still the best all-rounder in the team and there is no question around this fact. He will have a much bigger role to play today considering the potential rest to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. With the bat, yes, he will also have a much bigger role than he has in a normal scenario.

Pacers

Khaleel Ahmed: India is playing Pakistan tomorrow after meeting Hong Kong, which means they may rest some of their first-choice players and especially the pacers. If there is one man who will be pleased by the packed schedule, it is Rajasthan’s Khaleel Ahmed. What an opportunity to receive the maiden cap.

Shardul Thakur: Jasprit Bumrah joined the rest of the group only last night, along with the other players that were in England for the full tour, which means he may get rested for the Pakistan encounter. And that brings Shardul Thakur to contention who was in good form in the A-tour with India and found a place in the Test team as well.

Spinners:

Yuzvendra Chahal: Dubai has always been a pace-friendly wicket, but the placid conditions this time around is helping spinners big-time. So, Yuzi will fancy his chances of having another field-day and with Hong Kong being the opposition, it is an offer served on a platter.

Kuldeep Yadav: Same goes for Kuldeep as well. He had some excellent games in England and the rest are utterly frustrating once Joe Root started dictating his mystery. With the left-arm leg-spinner bringing the sense of novelty to his bowling, the Anshuman Rath-led side better beware.