Asia Cup 2018: Top 5 Batsmen to watch out for in this year’s competition
The 14th edition of Asia Cup will begin when Sri Lanka take on Bangladesh in the opening game at Dubai International Stadium on 15th September. The competition will be played in UAE from 15th September till 28th September. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the two venues where all the 13 games will be played.
Hong Kong has qualified for the competition as they brushed aside UAE in the finals of Asia Cup Qualifiers, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, and Afghanistan are the six teams that will fight it out for the coveted trophy. The surfaces in UAE will be batsmen friendly as players like Fakhar Zaman, Rohit Sharma, and Upul Tharanga will be keen to score heaps of runs in this year’s Asia Cup.
So, here are our top five batsmen that do well for their respective teams in the upcoming Asia Cup.
Rohit Sharma
He has done exceedingly well for India in limited overs cricket since Jan 2017. He is the only player in world cricket to have smashed three double hundreds in one-day cricket. In the absence of Kohli, India would be hoping that Sharma can produce big runs for the side in the competition.
Rohit Sharma will lead India for this year’s Asia Cup. He would be keen to continue his good form in this competition. Sharma had a successful tour to England and smashed two centuries against a strong England attack.
Fakhar Zaman
Second on the list is Pakistan pugnacious opener Fakhar Zaman, who has been in stupendous form since making his debut for the side in the ICC Champions Trophy last year. He has already completed 1000 runs in just 18 games and has become the first player from Pakistan to score 200 runs in limited-overs cricket.
Zaman has added many to his name since making his international debut and will be keen to continue his good form in this year’s Asia Cup.
He will particularly be keen to once again face arch-rivals India in the competition. He smashed a splendid ton to see Pakistan beat India in the finals of ICC Champions Trophy 2017 held in England.
Tamim Iqbal
Bangladesh opener will be one player to look out for in this year’s competition. Tamim Iqbal has plenty of experience of playing in these conditions as he has played for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League.
Iqbal has topped the batting charts for Bangladesh and become only the second batsman from Bangladesh to score 5000 runs in limited-overs cricket.
Angelo Matthews
Sri Lanka ODI Captain will be hoping that his side can turn things around in this format. Since 2017, Sri Lanka has won only 10 games out of 39 played in one-day cricket.
The all-rounder needs to consistently perform with bat and ball to help Sri Lanka end their winless streak in one-day cricket. Matthews was leading run-scorer for Sri Lanka in the recently concluded one-day series against South Africa.
Mohammad Nabi
He is an experienced all-rounder who provides value with bat and ball. Nabi is a very competent batsman and has become the first player from Afghanistan to play 100 games. He is the leading run scorer for Afghanistan in limited-overs cricket. Since 2017, Nabi has scored 616 runs in 26 innings at an average of 28 with two half-centuries to his name. He has produced impressive numbers with the ball in hand and picked up 40 wickets in 31 games at an average of 26.07 with an economy rate of 4.28.
