Why winning Asia cup will not be a cakewalk for India?

Asia cup is a tournament played between the Asian cricketing nations. It was started in 1984 when the first tournament was played in Sharjah and is held every 2 years.

Though last time it was a T20 affair, this one will be a 50-over tournament. India have won this tournament the most times with six titles, followed by Sri Lanka at five and Pakistan at two. Bangladesh have made it to two finals in the last three times but haven't been able to get their hands on the trophy yet.

This year India and Pakistan are entering the tournament as favourites but others can't be disregarded too.

Though India are the defending champion, it's not going to be a cakewalk for them. With Virat rested, Rohit will be leading the side. He and his team will have to juggle through a few challenges and bring their A-game.

Let us look at some of the puzzles India might have to resolve on their way to defend the Asia Cup.

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1) Bangladesh no more minnows

Having outperformed India, Pakistan and South Africa in their own backyard, Bangladesh are not the same team they used to be. They have very good players in their armoury. With the opener, Tamim Iqbal who has been the most consistent player for them of late, Litton Das who can change the course of the match on his day and reliable middle order players like Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and the deceptive Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh are looking strong.

They have a good bowling attack comprising of Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman and their captain Masrafe Mortaza. They have the ability to defeat any side if they play to their full potential and can no longer be considered as minnows.

2) India's middle order struggle

India are heavily dependent on their top order - openers (Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan) and Virat Kohli. These three have been the primary run scorer for India for quite some time now. And with Virat rested for this tournament it will be added pressure on the middle order.

KL Rahul, Ambati Raydu, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav have been selected in the squad for the middle order and Suresh Raina has been dropped. Rahul will most likely play at number 3 and it will be interesting see how he fills the big shoes of the Indian captain.

India currently have a very brittle middle order which has collapsed on many occasions. They have tried a few players but none have been able to confirm their place yet. With the arch-rivals Pakistan, who will be looking to repeat the Champions Trophy final feat again, India's middle order has a stiff challenge to face.

Like always, Pakistan have an excellent bowling attack. To win the Asia Cup Rohit will be looking for improved performance from the Indian middle order. India will also be looking to get a settled squad before the World Cup next year in England.

3) Pakistan is a force to reckon with

After winning the Champions Trophy in 2017 held in England, Pakistan have played some fearless cricket. They whitewashed Sri Lanka in a five-match ODI series in UAE and recently Zimbabwe as well. They are the most unpredictable side in the world. They can come up with some great performance and also some very poor ones.

Their main problem has been the batting department. They have found a new batting sensation in their opener Fakhar Zaman who recently scored a 200 and became the fastest one to score 1000 runs in ODIs.

He has an apt partner in Imam-ul-Haq who can play the role of an anchor, building the innings for Pakistan. The middle order looks pretty strong and settled comprising of Babar Azam(their best batsman), Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik. Sarfraz, the wicketkeeper-batsman will be leading the side.

In allrounders, they have Faheem Ashraf and Shadab Khan in their armoury. In Mohammad Nawaz, they have a great spinner. To back up their strength in seaming department, they have Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan and Hasan Ali. Hasan Ali took the most number of wickets in the Champions Trophy they won previously and India might have to look out for him.

In totality, they have a side which can take away the title from India and will be the biggest challenge in India's road to Asia Cup.