5 players who missed out from India's Asia Cup 2018 squad

The major takeaway from the Indian squad for the Asia Cup 2018 was the decision to rest Virat Kohli. That decision meant that Rohit Sharma will captain India in UAE with his opening partner, Shikhar Dhawan acting as the vice-captain.

Aside from that, there were quite a few surprise inclusions and major omissions as well. The inclusion of Ambati Rayudu, the return of Kedar Jadhav, the decision to not rest Hardik Pandya and the surprise selection of Khaleel Ahmed will all be major talking points.

But even bigger ones will be the misses out on India's Asia Cup squad. While some were due to the composition, others will feel like they deserved a spot in the squad.

India Asia Cup 2018 Squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Y Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Khaleel Ahmed

Here are 5 players who were unlucky to miss out on India's Asia Cup 2018 squad:

Mayank Agarwal

Having done everything he can possibly do to earn his maiden India call-up and missing out once again, Mayank Agarwal must certainly be wondering what more he has to do to be in with a shout. While it is true that India have plenty of options in the top order, especially in the shorter formats, Mayank has certainly gone above and beyond what he could have done.

A stellar season for Karnataka, where he scored over 2,000 runs across all formats continued to the India A side. If there were any concerns about whether he could replicate his form, they were quashed as he scored three centuries in his six List-A games in England.

Even in the recently concluded Quadrangular series, he finished as the second-leading run-getter behind only Manish Pandey. In the four matches, he scored a century and a fifty while having an average of 59 and strike rate of almost 100.

With a mountain of runs in domestic cricket and for India A, he must certainly be wondering what more he could possibly do to have a chance to earn his maiden India call-up.

Rishabh Pant

Pant is yet to make his ODI debut for India

Having been handed his maiden Test call-up and then making his debut as well, Rishabh Pant would have thought that he could certainly do no wrong. But how wrong he was as the Indian selectors decided that despite the impressive work behind the stumps and his breathtaking ability to score quickly with the bat, he wasn't required for the Asia Cup.

With two Tests and four T20Is under his belt so far, Pant would have thought that an ODI call-up and maiden cap in the format was just around the corner. But instead, the 20-year-old will now have to wait.

Deepak Chahar

Chahar will certainly count himself unlucky to not have made the cut

Strong performances for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2018 led to Deepak Chahar earning his India A call-up, where he was among the star performers against England Lions and West Indies A. That eventually led to his call-up to the Indian T20I side following Jasprit Bumrah's injury and his maiden T20I against England.

Although he was expensive and picked up just a solitary wicket in his first T20I, he picked up 14 wickets in the six List-A matches he played in England before that. Since then, he was impressive in the Quadrangular series as well, where he picked up four wickets.

One aspect of the 25-year-old pacer's game has been incredible economy rate and he will count himself unlucky to not have made the cut.

Umesh Yadav

Umesh has played on and off during the England tour

With the injuries to Indian fast bowlers of late, workload management would have been something that the Indian selectors had an eye on. Both Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been picked despite the fact that both are just coming back from an injury.

The fact that the squad includes just four paces, including one earning his maiden call-up will mean that the onus will rest on Bumrah and Bhuvi to deliver once again. This is where India might have missed a trick by not having the experience of Umesh Yadav to fall back on.

The fact that Umesh hasn't played a major role in the Test series will mean that he would have been relatively fresh and coming on the back of an impressive IPL, his addition could have made the bowling attack even more threatening.

Suresh Raina

Raina was dropped from India's ODI squad

Another player who would have considered himself unlucky to have missed out on India's Asia Cup squad, especially considering the nature of the pitches and the team's need someone in the top six to contribute with some overs of spin as well, will be Suresh Raina.

Having been part of India's ODI and T20I squad that played against England, the 31-year-old will be wondering why he was dropped out of the blue, especially given that Kohli has also been rested. In the eight T20Is and ODIs that Raina played in England, he only had a chance to bat in five of them. With a 69 in a T20I and a 46 in an ODI, Raina certainly made an impact in the limited opportunity that he was given.

And yet, out of nowhere, he has been dropped from the Indian ODI squad again and will have to wait for the West Indies series in Oto have another chance.