Asia Cup 2018: Virat Kohli's workload and middle-order issues will be in focus during the selection

The selection panel led by MSK Prasad is all set to pick India squad on Saturday for the upcoming Asia Cup which will commence on September 15. The major issue for them would be to pick the ideal number four batsman, the long-standing problem for the Men in Blue. There is also a possibility that the captain Virat Kohli will be rested for the tournament considering the amount of cricket is being played.

He was troubled by a bad back during the second Test against England at Lord’s and the gruelling UK tour ends only four days before the Asia Cup begins. Team India will play their first game on September 18 which means the team will get only 6 days in between. Also, it seems unlikely that the star players will be rested given that they will face the arch-rivals Pakistan at least twice, if not thrice, during the competition. In case, Kohli opts to sit out of the tournament then Rohit Sharma will take over the mantle of the side

Pandey to get a look in?

The middle-order muddle is still not solved and Manish Pandey is likely to get a recall for his exceptional show in the recently concluded quadrangular series for India B. In the four matches, he never got out and amassed 306 runs which has impressed many. He has had an indifferent form with the senior team and was finally dropped in December last year.

According to Sportstar live, there is also a possibility that the selectors go with Kedar Jadhav who was injured while playing in the IPL for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). But he didn’t have a good series while featuring for India B. But he fills in nicely as the sixth bowling option for Team India and makes a difference. Even Ambati Rayudu is in contention and with Suresh Raina failing to impress, there is every chance that the Hyderabad batsman might find himself again in the team.

Mayank Agarwal is also in the line courtesy his scintillating form. But the duo of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are likely to retain their spots and Agarwal might have to wait for more his chance.

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