Asia Cup: India's strongest XI without Hardik Pandya for the Super Four matches

With the group stage of the Asia Cup coming to the fag end, India along with Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan have made to the Super Four. India, who played two matches in two days have done a great job in winning both the matches and have comfortably made it to the next stage.

After being challenged by Hong Kong in the first match, India upped their game in the next game and completely outplayed Pakistan. In the process of restricting Pakistan to 162, India might have lost a great asset in Hardik Pandya. The ace Indian all-rounder injured his back in his fifth over and was carried off the field. After a medical examination, he was ruled out of the tournament and Deepak Chahar was named as his replacement.

In addition to that India also lost the services of Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur who will miss the rest of the tournament due to thumb and groin injuries respectively. For the remainder of the tournament, Ravindra Jadeja and Siddarth Kaul will be part of the Indian squad. In the aftermath of the injuries, we tried to put together the best possible XI for India without Hardik Pandya for the Super Four matches.

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Openers:

Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan in Test cricket and in one-day internationals is almost a completely different player. With the two innings that played, the problems that he place in the England Test series are now long gone.

He has been not only India's best batsman but also the best batsman of the tournament across all teams. The southpaw was outstanding in both the matches for India. While his 127 in the first match helped India edge past Hong Kong, in the second match he scored 46 useful runs and ensured an easy win for India.

Rohit Sharma(c)

Rohit Sharma

There are no doubts about who should partner Shikhar Dhawan at the top of the innings. The obvious choice is the Indian skipper for the tournament Rohit Sharma. Just like his opening partner who excels in white ball cricket, Sharma is a very dangerous batsman in limited overs cricket. In fact, he is the only cricketer in the world to score three double centuries in ODI cricket.

Rohit Sharma was a tad bit off in the first match as a captain and as a batsman but he has turned things around in the game against Pakistan. The Indian skipper was in complete attacking mode in the field and with the bat. During the first innings, Rohit Sharma kept on using his attacking bowlers, who were on point, and with the bat he scored a 39-ball 52 which blew the slight chances that Pakistan had.

Top order batsmen:

KL Rahul

KL Rahul

KL Rahul is undoubtedly India's most talented batsman across all the formats after Virat Kohli. After the century in the first T20I against England a couple of months ago, Rahul seemed a bit out of touch under swinging conditions but has showed why he cannot be neglected in the last Test match with a century.

Rahul did not feature in India's first two matches but to leave out a player of such quality cannot be forgetten. Dinesh Karthik hasn't done much wrong in the tournament but he might make for Rahul for the rest of the matches.

Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu is definitely one of the most unluckiest of the current team members. He has always done everything that the team asked for but could not play for the country much. A few years ago when he was a regular in the Indian squad, Rayudu had to sit out warming the bench in spite of an average above 50 in ODIs.

After an excellent IPL, Rayudu was set to make a comeback in ODIs against England but failed to clear the Yo-Yo test and was left out. After that setback, he improved his fitness and has finally made a comeback. Rayudu has a golden chance at his hand and he is trying to make the most of it performing consitently. In the two matches in Asia Cup, he scored 60 and 31* to help India win matches against Hong Kong and Pakistan respectively.

Wicket-keeper and all-rounders:

MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni

In the absence of the regular skipper Virat Kohli, the role of MS Dhoni becomes much more important as he helps the youngsters in the team during their bowling. Dhoni who is generally clinical behind the stumps had a few blips in the first two matches but is definitely the best wicket-keeper in India.

After getting out for a duck against Hong Kong, Dhoni did not get a chance to bat against Pakistan but will to make things right in the Super Four. Dhoni being close to the game will be very important for India not only with respect to Asia Cup but also in the preparation for the World Cup next year.

Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav has definitely been the Indian player to watch out for in the Asia Cup so far. As expected he contributed decently with the bat in the first match against Hong Kong with an unbeaten 28*. With the ball too, he has picked up three with an economy rate of 3.19 in two matches.

Even though he got no wickets in the first match, he was economical and covered the over of Shardul Thakur. In addition to his performances with the ball and the bat, he also ran out Shoaib Malik, who was batting excellently till then. Seeing his performances so far, one can definitely say that Kedar Jadhav is the complete package that teams want.

Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja, who played his last ODI in July last year against West Indies was named as the replacement for an injured Axar Patel. With Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel being ruled out of the Asia Cup, it is almost certain that Jadeja will feature in India's playing XI as an all-rounder.

Before the wrist-spinners - Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal - made their way into the side, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin played a key role in the success of the Indian team in limited overs. In spite of being economical during the middle overs their inability to pick wickets during that phase cost them the place in the Indian side.

With India playing all the matches in Dubai, where the tracks are on the slowish side, the accurate bowling of Jadeja along with his batting in the lower order might work in the favour of the Indian team. Jadeja will also look to make the most of the opportunities that come his way.

Bowlers:

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

A lot of doubts were raised over Bhuvneshwar Kumar's form after the first match after he bowled 9 wicketless overs for 50 runs against Hong Kong. The fact that India's opening bowler did not finish his quota of overs was a big statement in itself.

To silence all unnecessary apprehensions raise over his performance, Kumar stepped up his game in an emphatic fashion agasint Pakistan. He was not only among the wicket but also conceded runs meagerly. In the seven overs that bowled, he picked up three wickets and gave away just 15 runs.

Jasprit Bumrah:

Jasprit Bumrah is an invaluable asset to the Indian team and has he proved that once again in the match against Pakistan. After being rested for the match against Hong Kong, Bumrah created pressure on the Pakistani batsmen right from the ball one by bowling two maiden overs at the top. As a result of his consistent line and length by both the opening bowlers, India picked up two wickets in the first five overs.

In addition to the good fast bowling at the top, Bumrah is a great bowler in the death overs. In the match against Pakistan, his effective bowlimg helped India wrap up the tail quickly. Bumrah, who recently returned from injury, will look to continue in the same fashion for the rest of the tournament.

Khaleel Ahmed:

Khaleel Ahmed

Khaleel Ahmed, the youngest player in the Indian squad, made his debut against Hong Kong and has impressed one and all. When things weren't going India's way, the fast bowler did not give up. He sent back Hong Kong's highest run-getter Nizakat Khan, who fell short off a century by 8 runs, to the pavilion.

Khaleel, who idiolises Zaheer Khan, ended with the same debut figures as Zaheer - 3 for 48. With a good start to his career, India will hope that the young man can emulate his idol in the times to come.

Kuldeep Yadav/ Yuzvendra Chahal:

Chahal celebrating Kuldeep's success

The wrist spinners - Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal - have been a revelation for the Indian limited overs side. The two together have been outstanding in the middle overs and have been picking up wickets consistently during that phase. With Ravindra Jadeja making a possible comeback as bowling all-rounder, India might have to face the difficult decision of choosing between the two.

As the tournaments progresses, the slow surface in Dubai might provide more support to the spinners and in that scenario India might choose to play both the leg-spinners by dropping Khaleel Ahmed. Even after three injury replacements, India are a strong side and will look to defend the title in the days to come.