Best Asian XI team in ODI cricket right now
The 2018 Asia Cup will be a One Day International(ODI) cricket tournament scheduled to be held in the United Arab Emirates in September 2018. It will be the 14th edition of the Asia Cup and the third time when the tournament will be played in the United Arab Emirates, after the 1984 and 1995 editions. India are the defending champions.
Originally, the tournament was scheduled to be played in India. However, it was moved to the United Arab Emirates, following the ongoing political tensions between India and Pakistan.
Background
On 29th October 2015, following the Asian Cricket Council(ACC) meeting in Singapore, Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) secretary stated that the 2018 edition of the tournament would be held in India. In August 2017, the BCCI sought government clearance to host the tournament, after the 2017 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup was moved to Malaysia. In April 2018, Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nayan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, asked if the BCCI and ACC would consider hosting the tournament in Abu Dhabi, in a bid to ensure Pakistan's participation. Pakistan were scheduled to host the 2018 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup ahead of the tournament in April. However, with the announcement that the Asia Cup would be played in the United Arab Emirates, the Emerging Teams Asia Cup was moved to December 2018 with Sri Lanka scheduled to co-host the tournament with Pakistan.
Asia has always been a nursery of cricket and has produced many greats of the game. So,let us take a look at the current players who can make it to the playing XI of the Strongest Asian XI Team in ODI cricket considering the balance of the team and representation of cricketing nations.
Openers: Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan
Undoubtedly, Rohit Sharma is currently one of the best openers in the limited-overs format. He can destroy any bowling line-up once he gets settled. Rohit is the only player to score three double centuries in ODI cricket with the highest score of 264, which is a world record. The way he times the ball makes him a treat to watch. He is currently ranked no. 4 in ODI cricket. He, without any doubt, deserves his place in starting XI.
On the other hand, Shikhar Dhawan has been in the form of his life. He has scored runs in Champions Trophy, South Africa, IPL etc. He is currently ranked no. 10 in ODI cricket. His ability to score briskly in all corners of the ground, in any conditions and against any kind of attack makes him a certainty to partner Rohit Sharma at the top of the order.
This opening duo, right-left combination, could form a lethal opening partnership on top of the order and could lay the platform for the middle-order.