3 reasons why India are unlikely to win Asia Cup 2018

After losing against England in an away Test series, India's next major International assignment sees them featuring in the multi-nation Asia Cup that begins on September 15. The tournament is slated to be played in UAE with no team going in as the firm favourites ahead of the tournament.

BCCI recently announced the Indian squad that will feature to defend their title. The major exclusion from the squad saw the Indian skipper Virat Kohli taking the much-needed break after being on the road for such a long period. Rohit Sharma will lead the side in Kohli's absence with Shikhar Dhawan being his deputy.

Though the team is a healthy blend of youth and experience, it will take some efforts to fill in the void left by Kohli at No.3 position in the batting order.

We take a look at 3 reasons why this Indian team can't win the Asia Cup 2018 in UAE:

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#3 Unfamiliar Territory in UAE

The Asia Cup was shifted from India to UAE after the Indian government denied BCCI to host Pakistan in India for the multi-nation tournament. This came in as a blow for the men in blue as they now head to a state of unfamiliarity. Though it is a neutral venue for all the participants but other teams have played cricket in the country more recently than India.

While Pakistan plays all its home games in UAE, it might be a blessing in disguise for the men in green as they will fancy their home advantage. However, for India, it will be a tough task in hand as for the majority of players, it will be an unfamiliar territory in UAE.

India will play their first game on September 18, three days after the inception of the tournament, and that might just give them an opportunity to make themselves acclimatized to the conditions in Dubai.

#2 Middle muddle?

Ever since the 2015 World Cup, the Indian team has tried a plethora of players at the No.4 position in ODI cricket. The answer to the question of a reliable middle-order batsman still seems out of the reach. In this context, Asia Cup is yet again going to be treated as an opportunity for India to try out their possible options before the World Cup next year.

The likes of Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav and Ambati Rayudu are the front-runners in the race for the No.4 spot. However, the team might just be tempted to play Jadhav as he can also bowl a few overs of off-spin which can come in handy for the skipper in the crunch situations of the game to compensate for the quota of the 5th bowler.

In the end, trying and testing combinations will only lead to instability in the side, which in turn can lead to inconsistent performances.

#1 No Virat Kohli

It is a huge loss for the Indian team as their skipper will miss out on the Asia Cup. India might not miss his services as a captain but definitely as the best batsmen in their ranks. He has been the flag-bearer for the team in the past decade with other batters playing around him to plan India's strategy as a batting unit.

Virat Kohli embraces challenges and always possesses the hunger to turn games around solely based on his skills. However, when he is not available for the tournament, it will be a huge boost for the opposition as India will now rely more on their under-performing middle order. The likes of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, who is certain to take Kohli's spot, will be required to shoulder extra responsibility to fill in the void left by Kohli's absence.