5 Things you should not miss in the Asia Cup 2018
The Asia Cup to be hosted by BCCI is all set to dazzle the desert state of UAE from mid September. This season will see top teams from the sub continent locking horns to establish supremacy over the rest.
This year's Asia Cup will once again be in the traditional 50 over format to serve as a run up to the World Cup 2019. India and Pakistan clash on September 19 at Dubai after a yearlong gap since last year's Champions Trophy finals.
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have confirmed births while one team will qualify from UAE, Singapore, Oman, Malaysia and Hong Kong. The tournament will be in the conventional group format. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super Four stage. The top two teams at the end of Super Four stage will lock horns for the finals.Here are few of the major things to look out for in the tournament-
1) India's Batting Order
This is as close as India can get to the World Cup 2019 and if their plans fall apart here, it's most likely to fail in England under extreme competition. Virat Kohli, fresh out of the England tour will be keen to establish the pecking order lock, stock and barrel. Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey,Dinesh Karthik and Kedhar Jhadav have all thrown their hats into the ring for selection.
Amongst the many issues, slotting the abundantly talented KL Rahul and defining Hardik Pandya's role as a batting or bowling all rounder will be of prime importance.