Asia Cup 2018: Three potential replacements for Virat Kohli

The Asia Cup Cricket Tournament is set to return once again in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 15 to 28 September 2018. It will be the 14th edition of the tournament and Indian Team are the defending champions. Five teams will participate with one qualifier which Hong Kong won a week ago. The tournament is divided into two groups; Group A consists of India, Pakistan and Hong Kong while Group B comprises Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

The squad for Team India has been announced but one factor which has been really concerning is Virat Kohli missing the tournament. The Captain of Team India has been playing at his best in the test series against England in a losing effort and will reportedly not play in Asia Cup 2018. The skipper has been rested for some time.

India has two back-to-back matches against Hong Kong and Pakistan on September 18 and 19, 2018 respectively. Both the matches will be competitive especially with Pakistan which has been one of the most heated rivalries in cricket's history. The last time these two arch-rivals clashed was in Champions Trophy final in 2017, where Pakistan was victorious. Now, it is time for India to get their revenge and it could happen in Asia Cup 2018.

Rohit Sharma will lead the side instead of Kohli, who is a more than capable replacement because of his captaincy in IPL for Mumbai Indians. Still, Kohli is a major batsman in the middle order, so Team India need a player to replace him in Asia Cup 2018.

#3 KL Rahul

KL Rahul

KL Rahul would be one of the first options to play at number three spot due to his past performances. The Kannada batsman should be given a chance because he had an excellent season of IPL in April where he was one of the highest run scorers of this year's edition.

But he fell short of expectations in ODI matches against England, the reason for that can be attributed to his batting position in the team. Rahul was pushed down to the fourth spot due to Kohli playing at number three. It was seen in IPL as well as in T20 matches that Rahul works really well when he plays in the first three spots as he has spent most of his career either as an opener or at number three. He returned in Team India against Ireland in the second T20 match of the series where he scored 70 off just 36 deliveries, later on, he was also part of the England Tour wherein the first T20 match he hit a century of 101* of 54 deliveries.

Sending him on the fourth or fifth spot would not extract the best out of KL Rahul, furthermore, it can do damage to his performances for Team India. So, it would be a wise move from the Indian Team selectors to send Rahul on the third spot since Kohli will be missing the tournament. Rahul has got the talent to lead his team to victory in a match single-handedly.

#2 Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey did not have a great season of IPL 2018 even though he was bought for a whopping eleven crore but he is still viewed as one of the promising prospects in the Indian team. Pandey's name has been announced in Asia Cup 2018 squad, so it is a possibility that he gets to play in the tournament.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman has only been involved in T20 format for Team India of late. Currently, he is the captain of India "B" team competing in Quadrangular Series, 2018 where his team won the final match against Team Australia "A". The 29-year old's performances in all the matches were extraordinary. After which he was selected for Asia Cup 2018 squad, but he is subject to the same problem as KL Rahul which is his batting position in the team.

Pandey has participated as a middle-order batsman since he has always competed for the fourth or fifth spot in T20 matches for India. However, as Kohli will miss the Asia Cup, it leaves a great opportunity for Pandey to be pushed to the third spot. He could play a key role in helping India retain the Asia cup. However, Manish Pandey still has to put in a lot of great performances consistently before he starts playing for Team India in ODI format and winning the faith of selector's for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

#1 Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu makes a return to Team India for Asia Cup 2018. The former Indian U-19 captain enjoyed a fantastic season of IPL, playing under Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as an opening batsman. He was selected for the England Tour for the ODI series but was replaced by Suresh Raina due to failing the YoYo fitness test.

Rayudu was one of the highest run scorers in IPL this year, this was a drastic change in him from last year where he played for Mumbai Indians where his performances were not at the highest level. But when he was chosen by CSK in IPL auctions in 2018, it suddenly changed his game completely. The 32-year-old became the most consistent run scoring batsmen for the team and led the team to win the season in the process.

He credits his success to former India captain MS Dhoni, (the captain of CSK) for utilizing him really well. The difference was apparent as Mumbai Indians used him in the sixth or seventh spot, whereas, CSK used him as an opener. However, the competition for opening in limited overs for India is stiff as Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are the first choice players and it would be difficult for Rayudu to break into the team as an opener.

So the best way Team India can use Rayudu is by allowing him to play in the third spot since in the absence of Virat Kohli. It will also be a good opportunity for selectors to check if he can replicate his IPL. If this works then Team India can use Rayudu in this position going forward.