Asia Cup 2018: 3 Players who can win the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award

The 14th edition of Asia Cup will conclude today with the final being contested between India and Bangladesh. The tournament had everything – one-sided fixtures, nail-biting games, India-Pakistan rivalry, a ‘tie’ and a lot of unpredictability.

Though the tournament happened within a short span of time with a cramped schedule, it turned out to be a successful one. Hong Kong’s fighting spirit against India, Afghanistan’s meteoric rise, Sri Lanka’s early elimination, India-Afghanistan encounter and Bangladesh’s upset against Pakistan will remain in the minds of cricket fans for a long time.

With the tournament reaching the end, let us look at three players who can win the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award.

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#3 Rashid Khan

Rashid is currently leading the bowling chart with 10 wickets

As expected, Rashid Khan was one of the star performers for Afghanistan in this year’s Asia Cup. He was a consistent performer for Afghanistan. Currently, he is leading the bowling chart with ten wickets from five matches. An economy rate of 3.73 is a testament to his exceptional skills. His capability of snatching wickets in the crucial stages of the game was the biggest advantage for Afghanistan.

Besides, he had a single 50+ score with an impressive strike rate of 142.62. Overall, he is a great asset to the Afghanistan cricket team. Even though his team was eliminated from the tournament, his overall impressive performances make him one of the contenders for the award.

#2 Mushfiqur Rahim

Rahim played two crucial knocks for Bangladesh in this year's Asia Cup

Mushfiqur Rahim started the tournament with a beautiful century against Sri Lanka. The way in which he phased out the innings is a good lesson for the youngsters watching the game.

Not once, but twice he had played such a fantastic knock in the tournament. His 99 against Pakistan helped Bangladesh to post a competitive target in their final Super 4 fixture. In the end, his knock played a significant role in his team reaching the final.

Currently, he is second on the batting chart with 297 runs from four innings. If he repeats another similar kind of performance against India in the final, then it is sure that he can go home with the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award.

#1 Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan is in a Sublime form in the tournament with two centuries

Dhawan entered the tournament with lackluster performances against England. With plenty of talented players waiting in the bench, Dhawan is expected to prove his worth in the team.

He started the tournament with an excellent century against Hong Kong. Then, he scored two consecutive 40+ scores against Pakistan (Group stage) and Bangladesh. Later, he once again cracked a magnificent century against Pakistan in their penultimate Super four fixture.

Currently, he is the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 327 runs from 4 innings. Besides, a strike rate of 101.87 is an added advantage for him.

As of now, Dhawan is the frontrunner for the Asia Cup 2018 ‘Player of the Tournament’ award.