Asia Cup 2018: 4 Indian players who were unlucky to miss out

The Battle to be termed as the Champions of Asia is just around the corner. The legacy that the tournament carries can simply be understood by the fact that it has been around for 34 years. The cricketing world has witnessed a total of 13 editions of the Asia Cup, Indian Team being the most successful having won a total of 6 editions.

Asia Cup, this time around promises to be more enthralling than any of its previous editions, thanks to evenly matched participating teams with their own set of given strengths and weaknesses, so much so that no team can simply be written off as a minnow.

The Indian Team still looks pretty much the strongest on paper and surely can be counted as the contender for the title. With a large pool of talented players who have been in good form and a core that has consistently done well over the past few years, India has a lot going by their side.

Though the selectors have scripted out a decent looking squad, there were still a few deserving contenders who were unlucky to miss out on a place in the team. Asia Cup will get underway on 15th September, So with around 15 more days to go, Here are 4 names who we think were unlucky to miss out on making it to the squad.

Note: All the stats are accurate as of 1 September 2018

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#4) Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar packs the ability to swing the ball both the ways and can prove to be destructive right from the start of the innings. Recently, the youngster has attracted a lot of attention from all the corners, owing to some strong power-packed performances in the IPL. He has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit as well.

Even in the recently concluded Quadrangular series, his contributions might not sound very influential at the first go, he was still pretty much the important part of India-A team. He picked a total of 4 wickets in as many games, the highlight being the impressive economy rate of 4.51.

Also, the utility that he adds as a pinch hitter cannot simply be written off. He gave a glimpse and a couple in the IPL, and even in the quadrangular series, he played a couple of impressive cameos down the order.

#3) Krunal Pandya

The elder Pandya brings a lot to the table

A limited over specialist who can whack the cricketing ball a long distance, can give the captain some disciplined overs of left-arm spin and is also a live wire at the field, jumping and holding to everything that comes along his way, KP, would have been a tempting option to include into the playing eleven.

The fact that he can finish the innings on high with the bat in hand and can also sport the role of the sixth bowler, only adds up to the overall value he brings to the side. While the top order looks settled, the middle muddle is still the headache that is yet to receive a long-term solution, Krunal with his cricketing pyrotechnics can certainly be that part of the Jigsaw puzzle which has given the management a tough time.

He picked a total of 4 wickets in 4 innings and also scored 96 runs with the bat in the recently concluded quadrangular series. He has done well for his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians ever since he made his IPL debut(back in 2016).

#2) Mayank Agarwal

Agarwal has made the most of every single innings that he has played

Mayank Agarwal has had a dream year and without an iota of scepticism can be claimed as the most consistent among all the Indian domestic players. Having scored runs of every single opportunity that came along his way, Agarwal was highly unlucky to miss out on a place.

Needless to say, he was the star performer for India-B Team in the quadrangular series and his incredible form was one of the reasons why India-B's march to the title proved to be a cake walk. He scored a total of 236 runs at an average of 59.72 and a jaw-dropping strike rate of 96.72. Agarwal was the second highest run scorer(second only to Man of the tournament-Manish Pandey).

Leaving aside the quadrangular series for a couple of moments, even his exemplary numbers in the List-A games are too good that he can be neglected. (3390 runs at an average greater than 50 and strike rate more than a run a ball)

#1) Rishabh Pant

Pant is an exciting young cricketer

The young prodigy from Delhi can go on to become the next big thing in Indian Cricket. Despite falling a solitary step short of orange Cap in the IPL, he still has not found the place in the limited over fixtures, which would make one feel sad for the youngster.

He scored a total of 684 runs in the 14 games that he played and was unlucky to miss out on the orange cap. At 19, Pant has a lot of cricket left in him, having said that the youngster has still managed to get his name registered in the record books.

Even his exemplary numbers in the List-A games projects the similar side of story demanding for his inclusion in the side(1769 runs at an average of 52.02 and the strike rate of 93.69).