Asia Cup 2018: India's second string team that can win the tournament easily
Before the Indian selectors sat down to pick the Indian team for the 2018 Asia Cup, a lot expected the key players to be rested ahead of a big summer and the fringe players to get a look-in. But, the selection committee led by MSK Prasad has named a full-strength side for the tournament that gets underway in UAE from September 15.
India are grouped alongside Pakistan and Hong Kong in the tournament won't be having any difficulties in qualifying for the next round. With the Indian bench strength, one can expect the fringe players to play the tournament and go all the way in spite of the other teams naming their first-choice squad.
India's actual Asia Cup squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, K Khaleel Ahmed
Let us take a look at a second-string Indian team that could win the 2018 Asia Cup easily.
Note: Only the players who were not included in the Asia Cup squad were considered.
#1 Mayank Agarwal
Mayank Agarwal was one name that everyone thought will feature in the Indian side for the 2018 Asia Cup as the right-hander has done everything he could do to get into the Indian side. He has been the most consistent performer in the Indian domestic circuit across all three formats irrespective of the team he plays for, be it India A or India B or his state team Karnataka.
In 2018, Mayank has taken his consistency to a whole new level as he has scored 1481 runs in 21 innings at an astonishing average of 74.05 and a fantastic strike-rate of over 100 in the List A format for India A, India B and Karnataka. In spite of raking up runs in every single match he turns, he is yet to get his dues by the Indian selectors.
He could have easily got a chance in the Asia Cup either at the expense of Shikhar Dhawan, who has been playing some non-stop cricket or as the third opener in the side, given the fact that KL Rahul is being tried as a middle-order batsman.