4 Players who can be a surprise inclusion in India's Asia Cup squad
After the culmination of India's long tour to Ireland and England on September 11, the Men in Blue will be back in business with some white-ball cricket in the form of the Asia Cup, which begins September 15. The multi-nation tournament will be a 2-week affair with the final scheduled to take place on September 28 at Dubai Cricket International Stadium in Dubai.
India start as favourites as they will look to defend their title from 2016. It could well be the most competitive tournament in the history as top six teams would look to battle it out against each other to be eventually crowned as the Champions. With such a close competition expected, no team would leave any stone turned to put their best squads going into the tournament.
Even Indian selectors, when they meet on Saturday to select the team, would want to go with a full-fledged Indian squad. However, with many impressive performances seen in the past couple of months, they could spring in a few surprises with their selection.
Let's take a look at some of the players who can be roped in as a surprise inclusion for the Asia Cup:
#4 Rishabh Pant
The flamboyant Indian wicket-keeper batsman, who recently made his debut in whites for India against England, is one of the most promising youngsters coming through the ranks. It was on the back of his exceptional performances at the under-19 and state level and IPL as well, that he was awarded his maiden Test call-up in England.
To add to his cause, Pant was also the Orange Cap holder in the last IPL season, playing for Delhi Daredevils. Pant might not have the best hands when it comes to his effectiveness behind the wicket but he is definitely the future of Indian cricket. Given his attacking batting approach, selectors might be tempted to rope in Rishabh Pant as a specialist batsman to solve India's middle muddle in the batting order.