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By: Chinmay Vaidya
No Virat Kohli, no problem. India stormed through the Asia Cup with relative ease on the back of its two openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, before the team's middle order stepped up in a thrilling Asia Cup final against Bangladesh. Despite the victory, India's batting struggles were on full display. Sharma and Dhawan were absolute monsters in the tournament. They accounted for 50.7 percent of the team's runs in the competition and combined for three centuries. Despite being unable to carry the team in the final, the duo still put up a combined 63 runs to spearhead the chase. MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu had the opportunity to establish themselves as reliable contributors with a match-winning innings in the final. They all failed, highlighting a problem India has faced since the 2015 World Cup. Rayudu bowed out after seven deliveries. Karthik and Dhoni built solid foundations for themselves, but were not able to translate it into the big score. Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were tasked with rescuing the team from an embarrassing loss. As a true all-rounder, Jadeja can be counted on for runs and he was able to deliver. Kumar, on the other hand, should not be tasked with that responsibility. If Kedar Jadhav had not come back after a minor injury, it's very possible India is not lifting this trophy. Kumar is a decent batsman and can chip in when needed. He should not be counted on for runs. In this tournament, India went with a middle order group that is reliable but not bursting with potential. The selectors will have to determine whether a similar approach will yield winning results at the World Cup in 2019 or whether a new group is required. Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson are all young, middle-order batsmen who could see opportunites if India decides to go in the latter direction. For now, India can sit back and celebrate. Kohli's return will ease some concerns, but the search for a reliable No. 4 and No. 5 batsman continues.
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By: Aashay Chavan
There was one spot up for grabs in the upcoming Asia Cup and on September 4, Hong Kong claimed it after defeating the UAE in the final of the Qualifiers tournament. Hong Kong and five other teams (Malaysia, Oman, Nepal, Singapore, and UAE) were battling it out for the final slot in the Asia Cup, with the five full member nations getting the automatic spots. Now Hong Kong faces its toughest test: a group stage with the big guns India and Pakistan. Since the top two from each group will make it to the knockout round, it’s not exactly bold to say that the Hong Kong cricket team’s expectations are somewhat subdued. The ICC has granted ODI status to all of Hong Kong’s matches. As an associate member, Hong Kong is not currently an ODI status holding team, even though it has beaten Nepal, which has ODI status. Hong Kong lost the status last year after losing to Malaysia. In its best-case scenario, Hong Kong will look to disrupt one of the two favorites in its group. Hong Kong full squad: Anshuman Rath (C,WK), Aizaz Khan, Babar Hayat, Cameron McAulsan, Christopher Carter, Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, Arshand Mohammad, Kinchit Shah, Nadeem Ahmed, Nizakat Khan, Raag Kapur, Scott McKechnie, Tanveer Ahmed, Tanwir Afzal, Waqas Khan, Aftab Hussain Full Asia Cup coverage here. By: Aashay Chavan
The Indian squad, one of the favorites to win this tournament, makes headlines not for who is in the team in this edition of the cup, but rather for the one who is not. The selectors have decided to rest the captain and best batsman in the world: Virat Kohli. It makes sense: India’s recent workload has been egregious. The five-match Test series against England ended September 11th, four days before the start of the Asia Cup. Since April, Indian players had the IPL and then the tour of Ireland/ England. After this Asia Cup, India has a home Test series against the West Indies followed by a grueling tour of Australia. The plan appears to be to sneak in some rest for Kohli with an eye on the upcoming World Cup next year. Rohit Sharma will captain with Shikhar Dhawan as vice captain. It looks like KL Rahul will be the No. 3 batsman after a strong performance in England. Manish Pandey, Ambati Rayudu, and Kedar Jadhav are all replacing Suresh Raina, Umesh Yadav, and Siddarth Kaul from the England ODI series. It’s not an inspiring middle order, which continues to be India’s biggest issue. The bowling department brings back top seamers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. All-rounder Hardik Pandya will look to fulfill the role of third seamer and can hopefully provide run support in the middle order. Wristspinners Kuldeep Yadhav and Yuzvendra Chahal will hope to supplement each other in the middle and the death overs. Axar Patel might get a look as a left-handed all-rounder. There is one new face in the squad: 20 year-old Khaleel Ahmed. The selectors wanted a left arm pace option and though he only has a couple first class matches experience, he shined in the India-A tournaments he’s played in. If Pandya can’t click, Ahmed might be given an opportunity. India shouldn’t have to worry too much about advancing out of the group stage, but could face some challenges in the Final Four pool. This is one of the favorites to win, but the lack of Kohli’s runs could eventually do India in. Full Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (WK), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Khaleel Ahmed Full Asia Cup coverage here. By: Paarth Joshi
After a comprehensive series win over the West Indies, Bangladesh comes into the Asia Cup rested and poised to make a deep run in the tournament. Bangladesh will look to its experience to anchor the batting. Both Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan have been in superb form in the last 18 months. The talented lefty duo has had success against the Sri Lankan and Indian bowling attacks, which should give the team great confidence going into those matchups. Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim provide solid middle order options and can score in a hurry as well if necessary. The pace attack will center around the likes of the captain, Mashrafe Mortaza. Mustafizur Rahman will also have a critical role to play. He has proved to be a very economical bowler in limited over formats, something that will be useful against the likes of some star studded batting lineups they will face. The spin attack will have a lot of questions to answer. Shakib stated that he only feels “20-30% fit” for the start of the cup. He has been dealing with a finger injury since early in the year and it is clear that it is bothering him quite a bit. Mortaza will need one of his young spinners to step up to the plate if in fact Shakib's ability to bowl at full strength is compromised, The expectations are for this team to make it to the Final Four stage. Bangladesh should be able to take care of business against Afghanistan, which most likely will be enough to put it through. The team has played Sri Lanka very closely recently, and will be fancying its chances to win that match as well and take the top spot in the group. The Final Four stage is where this team will really be tested. Bangladesh will likely see either India or Pakistan standing in the way of an appearance in the final. But as we have seen in the past year, Bangladesh has the capability to play any team close. If the squad can get some big performances from its stars, Bangladesh could be in a position to upset one, or possibly both, of the tournament favorites. Full Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Shakib Al-Hasan, Abu Hider, Ariful Haque, Liton Das, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Mithun, Mosaddek Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Mustafizur Rahman, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Nazmul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Tamim Iqbal Full Asia Cup coverage here. By: Chinmay Vaidya
Pakistan has had a whirlwind of a year. After shocking India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, Pakistan has slowly emerged from the shadows of world cricket to once again become a legitimate title contender. Openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam ul-Haq look the part as stars and have the numbers to back it up. Zaman added his name to the list of the fastest cricketers to 1,000 ODI runs. Babar Azam, who is also on this list, is another up-and-coming middle-order batsman. ul-Haq has four centuries in nine ODI matches, an impressive mark despite the level of competition being subpar. Asif Ali brings another solid bat to the middle order. Bowling has long been Pakistan's strength and a new generation of seamers will make begin to make noise in this tournament. Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir and Shadab Khan create a formidable trio. Ali and Amir will be tasked with creating chances in the early overs and Khan will bring some variety with his legspin during the middle period. Whether Khan can handle the pressure of the big-time tournament will go a long way toward determining Pakistan's fate. Pakistan should go through to the Final Four stage with India and Hong Kong in the group. It remains to be see who will take the top spot in the group, but that shouldn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. This tournament has created at least two Pakistan-India matchups due to the format. Will we get a third one for all the marbles? Full Squad: Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shan Masood, Safraz Ahmed (C, WK), Shoaib Malik, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Usman Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Asif Ali, Mohammad Amir Full Asia Cup coverage here. |