Predicting India's middle-order for Asia Cup

With Asia cup just around the corner, India will be looking to defend the title.

Most of the Indian team looks settled. India's top order (Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli) has been doing the bulk of scoring in the past few series. MS Dhoni will be the wicketkeeper of the Indian team at least till the World Cup'19. The bowling side is also pretty much settled with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah handling the pace.

The spin-twin 'Kulcha' (Yuzuvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav) will the spinners. India has a decent backup in the pace department with the likes of Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Siddharth Kaul and Deepak Chahar. These might come in handy in swinging conditions. Hardik Pandya is going to be the seaming all-rounder. So if we count the number of players already settled in the playing 11 it comes out to be 9 (3 top order, 1 wicketkeeper, 2 spinners, 2 seamers and 1 all-rounder). This makes 2 positions up for grab in the middle order.

I think MS should bat at #5 since his finishing abilities are not the same as they were in 2011 and are on a constant wane. So we have the #4 and #6 spot puzzle which needs to be resolved before the Asia Cup.

As of now, India doesn't have a settled and reliable middle order. They have tried a few players like KL Rahul, Manish Pandey and Suresh Raina and none of them has been able to confirm their places yet.

Let us look at the options India has for the middle order spots.

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#7 KL Rahul

Rahul has just played 12 matches and scored a century in his debut match. He has a fifty to his name too. Both these knocks were played while he opened the batting. If you look at the six matches where he has batted in the middle order, he has just scored 37 in 5 innings at a very low average of 9.25 with 17 being the highest.

Though these stats are too less to comment on his playing style, I feel he is not the kind of player who can play in the middle order. He likes to play his shots and is a sort of player who can utilise the power plays to their maximum. India might be considering him for a middle-order spot, but I would keep him as a backup opener who can replace Shikhar and Rohit if required. Another option is to play him at number 3 and Virat at number 4, but I don't think India would want its best batsman to change his batting position.

#6 Ambati Raidu

The best player to fill the #4 spot, in my opinion, is this man and his last 5 scores of 41*, 62*, 41,124*,49 are reason enough to say this. Although these scores were against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh but came when India were in dire need.

He had a splendid IPL season, scoring 602 runs in 16 matches at an average of 43 and an impressive strike rate of 149.75. He scored a century and 3 fifties in this edition of IPL tournament. Raidu has excellent technique to play in the middle overs. He has the ability to clear ground at will and is a good player of spin.

In ODIs, he has scored 1055 runs at an average of over 50. Some of you might be shocked seeing this average and still not having made to the team. Although he was selected for the T20 series in England, he was dropped since he failed the YOYO test. Now that he has cleared the test, he should be given a chance.

#5 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik has the ability to play at both number 4 and number 6. He averages 36.11 at number 4, 36.6 at number 5 and 39.50 at number 7. He also has the ability to play as a finisher and his performance in Nidahas Trophy final where he scored 29 off just 8 with the last ball six, is reason enough to believe that.

He had a decent IPL season with 498 runs at an average of 49.8. He scored these runs at a strike rate of close to 150. He was the highest run-getter for his team and 9th if ranked overall. He is a good player of spin and is a handy middle-order batsman. Capable of both anchoring the innings and going after the opposition, DK could be the answer to the middle order woes India is facing currently.

#4 Suresh Raina

Average of 45 at number 4, and more than 35 at number 5 and 6, Raina is a handy middle-order batsman. Having the ability to both attacks and stabilise an innings, to the top he is an excellent fielder too. His ability to bowl a few overs ranks him above the players we discussed prior.

With India most likely to go with 4 bowlers and 1 allrounder, Hardik Pandya being that man, Kohli will be looking for some overs from the part-timers so that if any bowler is having a bad day, it doesn't cost us the match. Of late multiple opportunities have been given to him and he hasn't grabbed them with both hands, it'll be interesting to see if India would be willing to give more.

#3 Krunal Pandya

The man of the match of 2017 IPL final, Krunal Pandya scored 243 runs at an average of 34.71 in 2017 at a strike rate of 135.75. In the latest edition of 2018, he scored 228 runs at an average of 22.8 and a strike rate of 145.22.

In the bowling department, he took 12 wickets at an average of 23.66, whereas in 2017 he took 10 wickets at an average of 27.30. He can give you 5-6 overs in the middle and reduce the run flow with his tight line.

Apart from this he is an excellent fielder like his brother and can play the role of a finisher and all-rounder, as needed.

#2 Rishabh Pant

The new batting sensation Rishabh Pant can tear off any bowling lineup on his day. In IPL 2018 he scored 684 runs at an impressive average of 52.61. An average of over 50 is excellent in the longer formats but this guy attained it in T20s. What is amazing is to see that he scored these runs at a strike rate of over 173. He has the ability to clear the park at will and can be lethal when he gets going.

Very recently he scored his first runs in test cricket with a six. He can be the finisher India is looking for as a possible replacement to MS Dhoni as his hitting abilities are on a constant wane. India can play him at number 6 or number 7.

#1 Kedar Jadhav

Jadhav has scored 798 runs in 40 matches at an average of 39.90. He has scored 2 hundred and 3 fifties. He has scored these runs at an impressive strike rate of over 109, which suggests that he can play the role of number 6 for India. Though he got injured in IPL tournament, he has now regained full fitness and would be rearing to comeback.

In addition to his batting, he has a golden arm which many times have broken crucial partnerships. He already has 16 wickets to his name at an average of 32, which is not bad for a part-timer. He can give you 3-4 overs which can cover for Hardik or any other bowler who has had a bad day.