India's expected line up for Asia Cup 2018

India's next assignment after the England tour will be Asia Cup which will be held in UAE. The men in blue will be looking to continue their supreme form in the ODIs going into this tournament which features heavyweights from the Asian continent.

India ODI team, unlike the Test team, looks more or less settled. There are minor issues in the middle order especially with respect to No 4 and 5 position which Kohli would look to address.

Let's have a look at the expected played eleven India should go for in the Asia Cup.

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Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma

Unlike Tests, India have an established opening pair in ODIs in form of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. Both these batsmen are fierce strikers of the cricket ball and can take attack to the opposition. Rohit, especially in sub continent conditions can be lethal and his two double hundreds are testament to the same. He has an able support in form of Dhawan upfront.

Virat Kohli

Kohli is a run machine for India

Virat Kohli will be as always the key batsman in the middle order which, unlike the opening slot, looks a bit in disarray. The skipper is without doubt, the best batsman for India. It would not be an exaggeration to call Kohli a run-machine because of the amount of runs he has scored in his career spanning a decade is simply phenomenal.

Suresh Raina

Raina will provide stability to the middle order

Suresh Raina might be the answer to the middle order corundum plaguing the Indian team. A veteran of 226 ODIs, he can provide stability to the brittle middle order. He can also bowl off- break which will be useful on dry pitches of UAE.

Dinesh Karthik

Karthik is a useful middle order batsman

Karthik may have had an ordinary outing with the bat in the Tests against England but make no mistake, he is still a dangerous batsman in the shorter format. His heroic knock in the finals of the Nidahas trophy should still be fresh in our minds wherein he belted 22 runs of the last over to win the match for India.

Karthik is a compact batsman with a solid technique. His astute judgement of situations was apparent during his mesmerizing knocks in the IPL. He can handle pressure and maintain cool during tight match situations and can be useful in the middle order.

MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni will be the wicket-keeper batsman. Kohli should push Dhoni up the order to strengthen the middle order. The former skipper has re-discovered his mojo and is striking the ball really well. He played some breathless innings in IPL, 2018 and even at the ripe age of 37 years he looks fit and strong.

Hardik Pandya

Pandya's all-round capability makes him indispensable

Pandya can regularly clock over 140 with the ball and provides an attacking batting option in the lower middle order. His capability to clear boundary ropes at will makes him a dangerous player. This all round capability makes Pandya indispensable for the Indian team.

Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav

Chahal and Kuldeep will be the two spinners

Chahal and Kuldeep, the wrist-spin duo have taken the Indian spin attack to another level. They were drafted in the playing eleven post India's forgetful loss in the Finals of Champions Tropy, 2017. They have been sensational since then and have forced the established spinner duo of Ashwin and Jadeja to sit out. They accounted for 33 wickets against Proteas in the 6 match ODI series and were instrumental in the first ever series win for India in South Africa.

Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar

Bhuvi should be fit for Asia cup

Bhuvi and Bumrah will be the pacers in the Indian bowling line up. India is blessed to have one of the best opening bowling line-ups in ODIs.

Bhuvi is expected to be fit for the Asia Cup and this would bolster the Indian pace attack. He is a crafty bowler who swings the ball both ways and every now and then foxes the batsmen with his knuckleball.

Bumrah has been in terrific form in the tests and this is good news for India.

India has always been a tough team to beat in ODIs. They would look to assert their dominance by winning the Asia Cup.