As India have qualified for the WTC final, their regular players won’t be available for the Asia Cup which is all set to commence somewhere around the same duration of the WTC final. This means that India’s squad would comprise of Playere who ain’t Test regulars. This means that their squad be nothing more than their second string team. India’s bench strength is so strong that their second string side could give any full strength side a run for their money. Today we shall be taking a look at India’s predicted second-string playing XI for the Asia Cup.
1) Shikhar Dhawan:
Although Dhawan isn’t a regular in India’s Test team, he ensured that he was a regular member of the ODI and T20I squad. Adding on, the left-right combination helps him to unsettle the bowler. Dhawan depends on the orthodox shots to ensure that he collects runs for his team, and that is his specialty. An experience of 176 IPL games and 63 T20Is will help Team India in case of any collapse. Of the 63 T20Is he has played, Dhawan has scored 1669 runs. A strike rate of 128.29 is manageable for an opener in the shortest format of the game. Apart from that, he is the only batsman in the history of the IPL to score two consecutive centuries. When he is in form, Dhawan is a treat to watch.
2) KL Rahul (C and WK):
It is safe to say that KL Rahul has been one of India’s best players for quite a while now. Talking about the fact that Pant will be busy in England, Rahul is our first wicketkeeper. Adding on, he is a prolific T20I batsman. With an experience of 44 games, Rahul has scored 1542 runs. This means he has a healthy average of 44.06 in T20Is. Apart from that, a strike rate of 144.92 is too good for an opener.
3) Shreyas Iyer:
Shreyas Iyer has been one of India’s best middle order batsman for the mast 12-15 months he proved his worth during India’s tour to NZ in 2020. He was reasonable good in India’s tour to Australia recently as well. Excluding him from the team would be harsh and thus Iyer playing at 4 seems inevitable for India. Besides, Iyer is a good player of spin and the other Asian teams have really good spinner up their sleeve.
4) Suryakumar Yadav:
Suryakumar Yadav has experience of 101 IPL games. With a run tally of 2024, he is slowly rising up the ranks of all-time greats in the league. A strike rate of 134.57 is healthy for a batsman who plays the role of an anchor. Adding on, he can handle pressure efficiently. It was the 2018 season when Yadav found his form. With 512 runs in 14 matches, he was one of the bright stars for Mumbai during that season. Since then, he has been batting at the top order. The more Surya bats, the better he gets. Therefore, Surya is one of the most important players in this team because of his consistency.
5) Ishan Kishan:
Ishan Kishan was awarded his maiden callup to the Indian T20 side after his blistering knock of 173 for Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He will play the wicketkeeper role in the absence of Rishabh Pant and can be used as a floater in the batting order anywhere.
6) Hardik Pandya:
Hardik Pandya is one of the few players who cherish the pressure situations. For an all-rounder who bats in the middle order, a strike rate of 149.23 is nothing short of spectacular. Pandya has been the go-to man for Rohit Sharma in the IPL. Well, he has been tremendous on the international stage as well, as Virat Kohli looks after Pandya during desperate situations.
7) Rahul Tewatia:
Rahul Tewatia had an excellent season for the Rajasthan Royals last year with the bat and his five sixes off Sheldon Cottrell in an over was one of the talking points of last IPL. He can bowl four economical overs and can fit in as the all-rounder in the team.
8) Deepak Chahar:
Deepak Chahar has been a regular member of the CSK squad since 2018. He is another bowler who has grown under the guidance of MS Dhoni and managed to make it to the national squad. Even though Chahar is not quick, his accuracy is enough to trouble the batsmen. And this makes him one of the upcoming superstars of Indian cricket.
9) Shardul Thakur:
Thakur has played 45 IPL matches so far. And a wicket tally of 46 wickets proves that he can pick up wickets when his team needs to break the partnership. Shardul has played in 16 T20Is and he has an economy rate of 8.94. Although the economy rate is a bit on the higher side, this stat is destined to improve once he plays more games.
10) Yuzvendra Chahal:
Chahal has played 45 T20I games so far. And in his career, he has picked up 59 wickets with an economy rate of 8.3. Therefore, he is the main bowler in this lineup. Even though he might leak runs sometimes, he is a match-winner on his day.
11) T Natarajan:
Natrajan is now the strike bowler for his IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad. In 22 IPL matches, he has picked up 18 wickets. Adding on, an economy rate of 8.2 is satisfactory for a bowler who bowls at the death overs. And he grows as a bowler with every passing day.
He has represented in 3 T20Is for India. With six wickets to his name, he looks like a future lead bowler for the team. A