3 Indian Players To Watch Out For In Asia Cup 2022: Rohit Sharma will lead India’s title defence of the Asia Cup when they take the field against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai on August 28, Sunday. The tournament will kick off on a day before with Sri Lanka, who are the official hosts, taking on Afghanistan. Rohit Sharma had led India to the 2018 Asia Cup title when Virat Kohli was rested.
The BCCI selectors have announced their 15-man squad plus three standbys for the Asia Cup 2022, with the team left to deal with the injury-forced absence of Harshal Patel and Jasprit Bumrah.
India’s squad for Asia Cup 2022 :
Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan
Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar have been named as standbys
This Asia Cup 2022 gives the Indian management to further finalize their picks for the T20 World Cup, and also provides the players with good, competitive opportunities. While some will look to get back to form, and some to experiment more with their skillset.
Here are 3 Indian players who will be on everyone’s watch-out-for list:
Virat Kohli
It goes without saying: Virat Kohli will once again hog the limelight, even though he’s not the captain anymore, and the eyeballs of the fans and experts will be on his every move. For, not only Kohli is a big part of the Indian team, the former captain has been going through a rough patch with the bat.
After a disappointing IPL 2022 season – average of 22 and strike rate of 115 – Kohli had an ever poorer, forgettable England tour – where he couldn’t manage a single score of more than 20 in 6 innings in England.
Some experts have even laid claim that Kohli’s place in the T20I side is under threat and the 33-year-old must perform in the Asia Cup 2022 should he intend to keep his place in the side for the T20 World Cup.
Ravi Bishnoi
Ravi Bishnoi has had a bright start to his international career: in 9 T20Is, the leg-spinner has taken 15 wickets at an average of 16 while his economy of 7.15 has been brilliant; in his last T20I, vs West Indies, Bishnoi returned with 4/16, which would have gone a long way in ensuring his name in the Asia Cup squad.
It is very much possible that Bishnoi could play in the eleven ahead of Ashwin as the young leggie offers the variety of turning the ball both ways, having made his reputation as more of a googly bowler. Regarding the T20 World Cup selection, Asia Cup performance would be crucial and Bishnoi’s bowling will be monitored by the management closely.
Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep Singh has gained quite a big following in a short amount of time. For someone who has played only 6 T20I matches, it is a testament to Arshdeep’s skillset that he’s being touted to be part of the T20 World Cup ahead of some of the senior pacers.
He has been excellent in the death overs in recent times and has used his variations smartly; what hasn’t been talked about much is his new ball skills – Arshdeep is adept in swinging the ball into right-handers (his first over in international cricket, vs England, was a maiden).
In 2022, Arshdeep Singh has recorded a stunning economy rate of only 6.67 in death overs! In absence of Bumrah and Harshal in the Asia Cup 2022, Arshdeep is certain to start in India’s eleven and will have plenty of attention and responsibility resting on his shoulders.
