Asia Cup 2018: India's best possible XI

On September 1st, National selectors announced a 16-member squad for the Asia Cup 2018. Virat Kohli has been rested after a straining tour of England. In Virat's absence, Rohit Sharma was named the Indian skipper.

Talk of the hour was the selection of young Khaleel Ahmed from Rajasthan. As the tournament gets underway on 15th September, here is best playing XI for Indian team against the qualifier team on 18th.

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1. Rohit Sharma (C)

The Indian skipper is in tremendous form as he ended up scoring 154 runs with an average of 77 in 3-match series against England. The Indian opener will have the responsibility of scoring big runs, as he always does.

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2. Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan

The left-hander from Delhi needs to give an attacking start to India and score as many runs as possible. He is known for scoring plenty of runs in the big tournament and has to continue his legacy in the coming Asia cup. He scored 120 runs in three matches against England but was unable to covert his 30-40s into a big score in each inning.

3. KL Rahul

Lokesh Rahul

Rahul will be having the huge responsibility of filling the void of Virat Kohli. Unable to make an impact in the Tests so far, he'll also be under performance pressure. He was unable to score many runs in the ODIs against England as he scored 9* and 0 in the ODIs against England.

Eventually, he was dropped in third ODI. Against an associate side, Rahul will have to gain his confidence back. However, one poor performance will cost him losing the number 3 to in-form Rayudu.

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4. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (WK)

MS Dhoni

The former Indian skipper will be having the responsibility of handling the middle order in absence of an experienced player. He scored 79 in two innings against Eng, however, was criticised for his slow batting. Moreover, he is the best wicketkeeper in the country and will be playing at number 4.

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5. Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey has been rewarded for his brilliant form as he led his team to the victory in quadrangular cup played recently. He was the highest run-scorer in the tournament scoring 306 runs in 4 innings and remaining unbeaten throughout the tournament. His current form will make his place in the team ahead of Kedar Jadhav and Ambati Rayudu.

6. Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik

Karthik might have been dropped from the Test side, but he'll make his place in the playing XI in the Asia cup. In the only ODI he played in England, he looked solid with his 23, however, he was not able to convert his good start into a big score. He has been in good form since the IPL this year and will need to help India as a finisher, a job he did brilliantly for the Knight Riders.

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7. Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya

Pandya has cemented his place in the Indian limited-overs side with consistent performances either with the bat or with the bowl. A terrific fielder, strong athlete and the best finisher in the current Indian squad. However, bowling 10 overs as India's fifth bowler would be a difficult job for the Baroda all-rounder.

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8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvi has been struggling with his injury for quite a long time this year. Coming back after the injury from England, he has been able to bowl well against the Australia-A. His absence has troubled Indians in the Test series against England. He needs to damage the opponents with the new ball itself.

9. Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep was India's star bowler in the limited overs against England. Very rare in its kind, the left-arm chinaman bowler will always trouble the opponents with his action. For someone from an associate country, Kuldeep will be a total mystery.

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10. Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah

World number 1 bowler at the moment in ODIs and India's best bowler regardless of the format. Bumrah will be crucial, both with the new ball as well as at the death. He is in a great form in the recent Tests against England taking a 5-fer in his comeback match.

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11. Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal.

Chahal has become regular in the Indian squad for a year or so and has continuously impressed everyone with his bowling. His variations of speed and the googlies will be difficult to read for any batsman, especially in the UAE. The turning tracks of UAE and two world-class spinners will definitely make India go with both of them.