Asia Cup 2018: 3 major reasons why every Indian fan should look forward to the tournament

International cricket for the Indian Cricket team is slowly becoming like that European tour a family of four takes, where they try to cover each country in a couple of days, leaving no time to enjoy the beauty of a place or mourn the loss of having left one. Before you know it, you're out of one series and entering another.

For players like Dhawan, Rahul, Pandya and Bumrah, some white ball cricket in familiar terrain will be as sumptuous as having Poori-Bhaji with your next door neighbor following a long bout of soup and salad with an unfamiliar colleague.

Asia Cup, though its significance is highly doubted, though it seems like just another event to make India and Pakistan play to generate revenues for the broadcasters, though it is played right on the back of the English tour, still has a lot to offer.

Here are the 3 major reasons why every Indian fan should look forward to the Asia Cup, for it will answer many a question lying inside the head of every Indian.

1. How will India play without Kohli? Who will shoulder the responsibility?

One man army of the Indian Cricket Team

In the previous two tours of England and South Africa, whenever India has won a match, there has been a major contribution from King Kohli. India's performance has exactly been synonymous with Virat's performance over the last two years or so.

Although the team has abundant talent, focus has always been largely on the performance of their captain. It will be really interesting to know how India plays without Kohli, which batsman takes the responsibility for scoring runs and also how well motivated the team is!

Will India look like a student who enjoys partying when their boss is on leave? Or will India look like an employee trying to impress his boss by performing well when he's on vacation with the aim of getting an increment? Only time will tell.

2. How will MS Dhoni perform with Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik knocking on selectors doors?

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is well aware of the fact that he is past his prime. There is no doubt that he adds value to the side by stabilizing the middle order, being sharply intuitive when it comes to field placements and bowling changes as well as being razor sharp behind the wickets. However, the charisma, the runs, the sixes - especially while playing quality bowling attacks, have diminished over the years. With age not on his side, there are question marks regarding his role in the batting unit every team he under-performs in a series.

With Dinesh Karthik proving his mettle and young Rishabh Pant aggressively knocking on the door of the selectors after a Test hundred in England, it will be interesting to know how Dhoni performs. Will we see a Dhoni of 2004 who is care-free and wanting to take on opposition the bowlers? Or will we see a more aged, slightly faded Dhoni who tries to hit sixes, but unfortunately doesn't execute them as well as he used to. The performance of MS Dhoni is something every Indian is looking forward to come the Asia Cup.

3. The number 4 position

South Africa v India - T20 International

India has no dearth of talent. The batting unit is filled with performers and players wanting to play for the nation. The first class averages or intent is not the problem. Yet, somehow, no one has made the number 4 position their own. With players like Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni - all been tried in the past year or so, no one has performed well at that position.

With Virat Kohli out of the side and chances given to Manish Pandey, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav and KL Rahul in the playing xi, it will be interesting to know who performs well in the middle order and grabs the number 4 position to seal his place in the side, come the 2019 World Cup.