Top 5 Indian players to watch out for in Asia Cup 2018
The Asia Cup is all set to begin from 15th September in the desert shores of United Arab Emirates. India will be favorites to lift the crown given their recent one-day form but sides like Pakistan and Bangladesh will pose a serious threat in the competition.
India have announced their squad and have an exciting mix of players that can do well in the competition. Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey and Kedhar Jadhav have been included in the squad for Asia Cup 2018.
Let’s take a look at five players to watch out for India in Asia Cup 2018.
Rohit Sharma
First, on the list is Rohit Sharma, who arguably India’s premier batsman in limited-overs cricket. In the absence of Virat Kohli, Sharma will be keen to produce big runs for his team in the upcoming competition. He has been in scintillating form in the format for past couple of years and also smashed two centuries on India’s tour to England.
Rohit Sharma averages 44.98 from 183 one-day games played for India and has 18 centuries to his name. He will be keen to add a few more centuries in this competition and help India lift the coveted prize.
Shikhar Dhawan
Left-handed batsman has endured a tough time in red-ball cricket against England. Dhawan will be looking forward to playing white-ball cricket in UAE. He has been in tremendous form since the beginning of 2018 and accumulated 443 runs in 9 matches at an average of 55.37.
One should also remember the fact that he was player of the match in the finals of Asia Cup 2016 held in Bangladesh. Dhawan did not that well in the one-day leg of the tour against England and will be keen to turn it around in the upcoming Asia Cup. Cricket fans will be hoping that Cricket’s original “Gabbar” can find form and score big runs for India in the competition.
Lokesh Rahul
The T20 superstar must be surely looking to make an impression in the upcoming Asia Cup. Rahul has played only 12 games for India and averages a modest 32.12 with one century to his name. He played scintillating innings of 101 runs against England in the T20I series but failed to produce anything in the three-match one-day series.
Rahul will be focused to cement his place in the side and score consistent runs in the competition. He is one of the players that can certainly go the distance and will be looking to solve India’s middle woes in the upcoming Asia Cup.
Ambati Rayudu
The middle-order will certainly one player to watch out in this year’s competition. Ambati Rayudu has played 34 games for India and scored 1055 runs at an average of 50.23. The 32-year old will certainly keen to make an impression with the bat. He is one player that India will be hoping can deliver consistent runs with bat due to India’s recent middle-order woes.
Rayudu has experienced incredible form this year’s Indian Premier League and scored 602 runs in 16 games for Chennai Super Kings. He has also chipped in with consistent scores for India A side in Quadrangular series played in India.
Kuldeep Yadav
Left-arm Chinaman certainly stole the show for India on their tour to England. He produced exceptional performances for India in the T20 and ODI series respectively. He caused all sorts of trouble to English batting lineup with his variations. Yadav has been the go-to bowler for India in limited overs format and was instrumental in India winning their maiden one-day series in South Africa.
He will certainly keen to do well in the upcoming Asia Cup. He is likely to play a big role given surfaces in UAE will assist the spinners. Kuldeep Yadav topped bowling charts for India with 9 wickets to his name in the three-match one-day series against England.
India will be hoping that Yadav can continue his good form in the upcoming competition.
