India's strongest playing XI for the Asia Cup

Asia Cup is an annual tournament held between the top Asian countries in a round-robin format. Asia Cup came into existence in the year 1984. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are the major nations participating in this prestigious tournament. This year commemorates the 14th edition and is going to start on 15th of September.

Virat Kohli led Indian side once again goes as the favourites to win the prestigious cup. The selectors haven't announced the squad for the Asian Cup, and it can be anytime soon. Let us look at the strongest Indian playing XI for the Asia Cup.

Openers- Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan

Team India has one of the most destructive opening pairs in the World cricket having Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. Both of them had a fair amount of success when it comes to this form of the game. Rohit Sharma has a good record playing against the Asian countries, scoring 264 runs against Sri Lanka in 2014. Rohit Sharma, the current vice-captain, is an integral part of the Indian limited overs side.

Shikhar Dhawan will add the extra stability to the opening order along with Rohit Sharma. The left-handed batsman who made his ODI debut against Australia in 2010 has scored 4481 runs in his 105 ODI games.

Middle Order- Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina

Virat Kohli, the current skipper, is in good form scoring quick runs against England in the Test series. Kohli is a certainty and will hold the key for India's success in Asia Cup. Kohli who made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2008 has scored 9779 runs in his 211 ODI games.

KL Rahul who was in great form against England in T20is failed to replicate the success in ODIs. Rahul who made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in 2016 has scored 257 runs in his 12 ODI games. Suresh Raina who made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2005 has scored 5615 runs in his 221 ODI games. At No.5, Raina could be one of the best finishers and could help India post a big total.

Wicket Keeper- M.S. Dhoni

India hasn't looked beyond M.S. Dhoni in the limited overs for 13 years as they had a legendary player in the role of a keeper batsman. In the recent series against England, Dhoni failed to make an impact and was also one of the main reasons behind the team's loss.

The 14th edition will be his 1st Asia Cup stint as a non-captain and will be hoping to prove his critics wrong. MS Dhoni who made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2004 has scored 10046 runs in his 321 games. He is one of the greatest batsmen in the history of ODI cricket.

All- Rounder- Hardik Pandya

The dashing all-rounder Hardik Pandya who made his ODI debut against New Zealand in 2016 has represented India in 41 ODI games. He is currently one of the best all-rounders in World cricket performing well both with the bat and ball.

His recent performances don't seem convincing, but his past performances will surely earn him a spot in the 2018 Asian Cup. India will not go with another all-rounder as they will turn a batsman short. Hardik Pandya is an integral part of the Indian squad in all three forms of the game.

With less than a year to go for the 2019 World Cup, Hardik Pandya will be aiming to cement his spot in the Indian squad. Hardik Pandya scored 670 runs and scalped 40 wickets in 41 ODI games.

Spinners - Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal

India's strength in the recent times is their spin bowling which has destroyed the batting attacks. India will stick to their successful spin duos and might not think beyond them. Kuldeep Yadav who made his ODI debut against West Indies in 2017 has scalped 48 Wickets in his 23 ODI games.

Chahal scalped 45 Wickets in his 26 ODI games. As Asia Cup is a memorandum to the 2019 World Cup, it will be a surprise if anyone gets the nod instead of them. UAE supports the spinners, and it will be interesting to see how the batsman play against them.

Fast Bowlers - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah

India's pace duo is one of the best in the present times and will go into the World Cup as one of the strongest. Bhuvneshwar Kumar can swing the ball at the start and also can ball some tight overs at the end. When it comes to Bumrah, he can ball in the middle and at the death.

The other seamers who might get selected in the team are Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Siraj. The selectors will keep in mind the upcoming ICC World cup to cover all the bases.