India vs Afghanistan: Top five batsmen to look forward to in the contest

#2. Asghar Stanikzai

Stanikzai playing against the England Lions

The long-serving Afghanistan captain can be credited for the rapid rise of the war-torn country in cricket. Having started off as a mere associate nation, Afghanistan, under Stanikzai's inspiring leadership, is now a full-fledged cricket playing nation - across all the three formats of the game.

As a pure batsman, it's not completely fair to say that Stanikzai's abilities are average like his numbers suggest because they have often helped the team fight for victories. He is also one of the most experienced batsmen in the team. Defensive by technique, he also has the ability to sparkle when needed. Stanikzai is definitely someone who could do well at the top order for the Afghans. That it is his debut in all-whites would not matter much, because he has enough experience in International cricket to trump the debut factor.

Asghar Stanikzai has 1651 runs across 82 ODI innings, his high score being 101, the only century he has made in international limited over games.