3 Reasons why India might lose the 2018 Asia Cup

All is not well for the Indian cricket team at the moment. Their 2-1 loss at the hands of Englishmen in a contest where they entered as the favourites didn't go too well with the fans of Indian cricket. As a matter of fact, the impact of their defeat even raised questions on the performance they would be exhibiting in the 2019 World Cup.

While it would be difficult to predict about India's performances in the greatest event in the World of cricket, based on their recent play in the past couple of series, one could easily anticipate the outcome of India's expected run in the 2018 Asia Cup events.

A victory for India doesn't look anywhere on cards, but a mighty breakdown could be witnessed for sure. Here's a list of the 3 reasons which prove why India would find it difficult to win the 2018 Asia Cup.

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#1 India's middle-order quandary continues

India's middle-order conundrum got further exploited with their successive defeats against England in the 3-match ODI series. While they had ensured a lead of 1-0, their unexpected loss in the remaining contests, despite possessing some of the quality middle-order batsmen came as a shocker for the Indian cricket fraternity.

To be honest, it was a bit disappointing to witness players of the likes of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya to crumble down under the pressure subjected by the Englishmen.

Considering the potential that each one of them possesses, India should have easily won the competitions by a minimum of a 2-1 margin, if not a whitewash victory. Instead, what they exhibited was perhaps one of their weakest middle-order display which helped the English unit get the better of them on the crucial occasions.

If India is to win the Asia Cup battles, they better stick to a particular combination with the right set of players, else a major defeat in the conditions of UAE looks all the more prominent for the cricket fraternity to witness.

#2 MS Dhoni's finishing abilities have come to an end

MS Dhoni will have to level up his performance

The veteran of 321 ODI games was found struggling in the English conditions. He could amass only 79 runs in a total of 125 deliveries in the 3-match ODI contests, which is way poor for a player of his stature.

The 2nd ODI game at Lord's, where he exhibited an unexpected sluggish knock of 37 in 59 deliveries, witnessed the crowd going haywire with his intent and gameplay. The same crowd which once heaved sighs of relief with his presence in the middle, now hurled a flurry of boos at the veteran despite him crossing the 10,000 run mark at the Mecca of cricket.

He may have smacked 10,046 runs at an average of 51.26 in the white-ball cricket, but, one simply cannot deny the fact that MS Dhoni isn't the finisher he once was. With each passing series, his hard-hitting ability gets depreciated to some extent.

While every Indian fan would expect Dhoni to smack off the deliveries like a tracer bullet, in reality, it looks highly improbable.

#3 Over-reliance on the top-order batsmen

Top-order batsmen have been the major contributors for India in the recent limited-overs cricket

Indian cricket team relies way too much on the services offered by their top-order batsmen. The moment any one of the players en route on a journey back to the pavilion, half of the team's morale hits rock bottom.

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Virat Kohli have been the major contributors behind India's victories in the past couple of years. Without their stay in the middle, the Indian team finds it impossible to set mammoth targets or chase mighty totals.

Especially, the wicket of Virat Kohli seems to be the only entity that the opposition bowlers have a craving for, and when they succeed in dismissing him for paltry totals, the pressure gets onto the nerves of the remaining Indian batsmen.

It's high time the team management looks onto the performance exhibited by the remaining players as well, and accordingly takes a call on their selection.