Harsha Bhogle, Simon Doull and Joy Bhattacharjya pick their Asia Cup XI
The Asia Cup 2018 was organised between 15-28 September. The tournament was played between six countries which was organised in the United Arab Emirates. India won their seventh title by defeating Bangladesh by three wickets.
Experts like Harsha Bhogle, Simon Doull and Joy Bhattacharjya select their best XI Asia Cup 2018 on an interview with Cricbuzz. Let's have a look.
Openers
All the experts have a common opener as Shikhar Dhawan. Gabbar is the highest scorer of the tournament. Joy Bhattacharjya's No.2 is Afghani wicket keeper Mohammad Shahzad. While, Simon and Harsha selected their No. 2 batsman as Rohit Sharma who is the skipper of India. 'Gabbar' is awarded as the Player of the Tournament. Rohit lifted his first Asia Cup title as a captain.
Middle Order
The common middle order batsmen of experts are Mushfiqur Rahim and Shoaib Malik. They were impressive throughout the tournament. Mushi was impressive throughout the tournament without the help of the stars like Shakib and Tamim. Mohammad Nabi and Ravindra Jadeja are the part of Joy's and Harsha's XI respectively. Jadeja made his ODI comeback in this tournament. He played his ODI after a year. Nabi has played most ODIs for Afghanistan. The Indian captain and opener, Rohit Sharma was the No. 3 batsman for Bhattacharjya while Imam-ul-Haq is the No.3 batsman for Simon. Ambati Rayudu played his ODI after two years, is the No. 3 batsman for Harsha. Hashmatullah Shahidi, who was the second highest scorer for Afghanistan,was selected as a middle order batsman of Joy's and Simon's XI. Mehidi Hasan is an emerging all-rounder from Bangladesh. He is the part of Simon's XI.
Bowlers
The common bowlers of the experts are Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah and Mustafizur Rahman. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is another Indian pacer who is selected by Harsha Bhogle. Mujeeb Ur Rahman is the first International Cricketer to be born in the 2000s and he is a part of Simon Doull's best XI. Rashid and Mustafizur are the joint wicket-takers of the tournament with ten wickets to their name.
So here are the best XI of the experts.
Harsha Bhogle's Best XI- Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Nabi, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Rashid Khan and Mustafizur Rahman.
Simon Doull's Best XI- Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Imam-ul-Haq, Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Shoaib Malik, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mehidy Hasan, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah and Mustafizur Rahman.
Joy Bhattacharjya's Best XI- Shikhar Dhawan, Mohammad Shahzad (WK), Rohit Sharma (C), Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Hashmatullah Shahidi, Shoaib Malik, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah and Mustafizur Rahman.