3 Indian players for whom Asia Cup might be the last opportunity

Indian team's selection for Asia cup 2018 has been quite interesting. Virat Kohli has been rested, and in his absence, Rohit Sharma will captain the team. Khaleel Ahmed a young left-arm fast bowler from Rajasthan also got an opportunity.

Considering that India will be playing against Hong Kong, it provides an opportunity for youngsters like Khaleel Ahmed to make a mark on the international scene. Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav also made a comeback to the Indian team.

Axar Patel who has been on the sidelines due to first choice spinners like Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav might also get an opportunity.

Though this is an opportunity for fringe players to stake a permanent claim to the Indian side, it might also turn out to be the last opportunity for some players.

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#1 Ambati Rayudu

Rayudu has been in and out of the Indian team

Rayudu has been in and out of the Indian team since long. Rayudu is not a youngster anymore, he is almost 33 years old. Since age is not on his side, Rayudu might not get many opportunities in the future if he misses out on this one.

Rayudu's performance has not been all that bad during the opportunities he has been provided with, so far. He has scored 1055 runs at an average of 50.23 in 34 matches he has played. Rayudu's strike rate of 76.28, has been a cause for concern during his short ODI career. This strike rate comes down even further to 69.25 when he plays in alien conditions in countries like Australia, England and New Zealand.

#2 Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey hiss story with the national side

Manish Pandey is one of the most talented batsmen on the Indian cricket scene. But, he has not been able to fulfill his potential on the International circuit. Another problem is- he is not so young anymore. Pandey is 29 and he has played just 22 ODI's so far.

Indian team management has also been guilty of not handling Pandey too well. He has never got a long enough rope in the Indian side to establish his credentials. The fact that he has played just 22 matches during the period of three years from 2015-2018, is a testimony to the above-mentioned fact.

During 2017, Pandey played 10 ODI's in which he scored just 172 runs at an average of 34.20, which shows that he is walking on thin ice at the moment.

In the absence of Virat Kohli, Pandey is expected to play for India in the middle order during Asia Cup. If he fails, It might well turn out to be the last opportunity for Manish Pandey to make a mark on the international scene.

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#3 Dinesh Karthik

Karthik needs to make full use of his opportunity this time around

Dinesh Karthik has been a veteran of sorts of Indian cricket. His age is 33 and he has played just 80 ODI's for India, so far.

He has not made full use of the opportunities provided to him so far. His record indicates this fact, he has scored 1517 runs at a meagre average of 29.74 from 68 innings.

With Rishabh Pant breathing down his neck, as a backup keeper option to Dhoni, this might well turn out to be the last opportunity for Karthik to cement his place in the Indian side.