Asia Cup 2022: Predicting India's 15-member squad for the tournament

The 15th edition of the Asia Cup will be held between August 27 and September 11 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). India will go into the tournament as the defending champions, and this will only be the second time the competition will be played in the T20 format. It was initially announced that Sri Lanka would host the 2022 Asia Cup. But due to the ongoing economic crisis in the country, the hosting duties were handed to the UAE. There will be six teams in the tournament divided into two groups. India, Pakistan and the Qualifier are in Group A, and Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are in Group B. Two teams from each group will qualify for Super 4, and the top two teams from this stage will qualify for the finals. The finals will be played in Dubai on September 11. Meanwhile, India will be looking to defend their title and at the same time, fine tune their squad given that the T20 World Cup is set to be played in October-November later this year. Here is India’s predicted 15-member squad for the 2022 Asia Cup: 1. Rohit Sharma Rohit Sharma (Photo Source: Twitter) The captain of the team and one of the best white ball batters over the last decade, Rohit Sharma is the first name on the team sheet for India. He was also the India captain for the last edition in the absence of Virat Kohli. Rohit has not been among runs lately, which is a concern for the side. In 2022, he has scored 246 runs in 11 T20Is at an average of 22.36 and a strike rate of 132.25 with one fifty. He also had a tough time with the bat in the England tour in the T20Is. However, his knock of 64 off 44 balls in a 68-run win in the first T20I against West Indies showed that it is only a matter of time before the ‘hitman’ gets going again. He also has a stellar captaincy record of winning 27 times in 33 games in the T20Is. 2. KL Rahul KL Rahul. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images) KL Rahul is one of the core members of the Indian team and the vice-captain of the side. The all-format opener is one of the best batters in T20Is, scoring 1,831 runs in 56 games at an average of 40.68 and a strike rate of 142.49 with two hundreds and 16 fifties. Rahul is known for stylish technique and elegant stroke-making. He has got a range of shots and can also strike big. He can provide the required starts that the side will be looking at in the powerplays, and can also carry on until late in the innings. Rahul, after being named as the captain for the home series against South Africa in June, suffered a groin injury and has been out of the team ever since. He was named in the squad for the West Indies tour but caught Covid-19 a few days ago. His availability for the Asia Cup is still not certain. But his presence will be key in the upcoming major tournaments for India. 3. Virat Kohli Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Twitter) The former India captain and one of the best batters of this generation, Virat Kohli would be back for the Asia Cup after taking some time off. With 99 T20Is and over 3,000 runs at an average of over 50 under the belt, he is going to be one of the most experienced and important players in the team. At the moment, Virat Kohli is going through a bit of a slump with the bat. In 2022, he played four T20Is and scored 81 runs at an average of 20.25. He also had a below-par Indian Premier League (IPL) this year, scoring 341 runs in 16 games at an average of 22.73 and a strike rate of 115.99. However, the Indian management would continue to shower faith in him. As commentator Harsha Bhogle opined a few days ago, it could be the case that Kohli would be auditioning in the Asia Cup for a spot in the Indian team going into the T20 World Cup in October. 4. Rishabh Pant Rishabh Pant. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images) Rishabh Pant has established himself as an all-format wicketkeeper-batter for Team India in recent times. He will be the first-choice wicketkeeper for India yet again in the Asia Cup as he was in England and West Indies in the T20I series. Pant is naturally an attacking batter who likes to take on top-class bowlers in any condition. He usually takes a few balls out at the start of the innings before he unleashes some of the attacking strokes. Pant has batted in different positions over the last month or so. He opened against England alongside the India skipper and has played at number four in the West Indies tour. He is likely to bat in the middle order yet again in the Asia Cup behind Rohit, Rahul and Kohli. 5. Suryakumar Yadav Suryakumar Yadav in the third T20I against West Indies. (Photo Source: Twitter) One of the most skilful players and best white ball batters in the country, Suryakumar Yadav will be one of the first names on the teamsheet for India going into the 2022 Asia Cup. He is also India’s highest-ranked player in T20Is and the second overall after Babar Azam. Yadav made his international debut against England in March 2021, in a T20I in Ahmedabad and has played 22 matches ever since. He has scored 648 runs at an average of 38.11 and a strike rate of 175.60 with one hundred and five fifties. Yadav, although, has opened in the West Indies tour, is likely to be pushed to number four or five once Rahul is back in the team. His recent form, with a hundred in England and a crucial 76 against West Indies, makes him one of the guaranteed starters in the playing XI. 6. Deepak Hooda Deepak Hooda. (Photo Source: Twitter) The batting all-rounder, in his short international career, has been impressive, especially in the shortest format. He is called the ‘hurricane’ for his ability to strike big and change the tempo of the game. He made his T20I debut against Sri Lanka in February in Lucknow. After an impressive IPL 2022 with Lucknow Supergiants (LSG), he was named in the squad for the five-match home series in June. Hooda scored 451 runs in 15 games at an average of 32.21 and a strike rate of 136.67 in the IPL. Hooda played both the games against Ireland in June and scored a 47* and 104. In seven T20Is, he has scored 215 runs at an average of 71.66 and a strike rate of 170.63. He is also a handy off-spinner who can chip in as the fifth or sixth bowling option for the team. 7. Dinesh Karthik Dinesh Karthik. (Photo Source: BCCI) One of the best finishers of T20s and one of India’s most improved players over the last four months or so, Dinesh Karthik is yet another guaranteed member of India’s T20I squad. He also has the longest T20I career among all the active cricketers in the country. Karthik made a comeback to the national team in 2017 after about seven years. However, he lost his place two years later due to a lack of form. The 37-year-old announced his resurgence in the IPL 2022, establishing himself as one of the best death-overs batters in T20 cricket. Karthik scored 330 runs in 10 innings at an average of 55.00 and a strike rate of 183.33 for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and forced a comeback to the national team following the competition. He also provides the wicketkeeping option for the team after Rishabh Pant. 8. Hardik Pandya Hardik Pandya in third ODI against England.(Photo Source: Twitter/BCCI) The IPL 2022 proved to be a turning point in the career of yet another Indian star, Hardik Pandya, as it provided a platform for the all-rounder to showcase his abilities to lead a team. Not only did he impress one and all by guiding Gujarat Titans (GT) to the title in their debut season, but he also had one of his most prolific years in the IPL. Pandya scored 487 runs in 15 games at an average of 44.27 and a strike rate of 131.27 with a top score of 87* in the IPL 2022. He also picked up eight wickets with an economy rate of 7.28 and a strike rate of 22.88 for GT. Pandya also won the Man of the Match against Rajasthan Royals in the finals for his all-round performance. In 2022, he has already scored over 250 runs and bagged eight wickets in 12 T20Is. He is India’s number one all-rounder and provides the team with balance and depth in all departments. 9. Ravindra Jadeja Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) Ravindra Jadeja is yet another all-rounder who provides depth and options in all departments. The Saurashtra cricketer is one of the fittest players in the team and is known for his flamboyance on the field. He provides strength, skill and competence, regardless of the role. Jadeja can make the squad just as a specialist spinner. Over the last few months, he has also emerged as one of the best finishers in the format with some handy cameos in the backend of the innings. He is a wicket-taker on a spin-friendly surface and a tidy bowler when there is little assistance from the wicket. In 2022, he has scored 166 runs at an average of 55.33 and a strike rate of 146.90, and also scalped four wickets with an economy rate of 8.28. He is also one of India’s most experienced players, having played 62 T20Is and 290 T20 games overall. 10. Harshal Patel Harshal Patel. (Photo Source: BCCI) One of India’s go-to bowlers to break partnerships and provide breakthroughs with a key wicket is Harshal Patel. The right-arm pacer is versatile and is capable of bowling at any stage of the game. He can bowl in the powerplay to get some early wickets or at the death to control the scoring rate. Patel is known for his deception and subtle variations with the ball. He has an effective off-cutter and a seam-up delivery in his armoury. His main strength is being able to adapt across conditions and assess the game situations. In IPL 2022, Patel picked up 19 wickets in 15 games at a strike rate of 16.89 with an economy rate of 7.66 and the best figures of four wickets for 34 runs for RCB. In IPL 2021, he bagged 32 wickets in 15 games and equalled the record for taking most wickets in an IPL season along with Dwayne Bravo. He is also capable of scoring a few runs late in the innings. 11. Bhuvneshwar Kumar Bhuvneshwar Kumar. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP) (Photo by RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images) The slender fast bowler from Meerut with extraordinary control over a new cherry, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, is a key member of Team India in the scheme of things. He is currently one of the best fast bowlers in the world in T20 cricket and the highest-ranked Indian bowler in T20Is. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is known for his ability to swing the ball and get some early wickets without conceding easy runs. He can move the ball both ways but one of his main strengths is to swing the ball into a right-hand batter and attack the off-stump. Bhuvneshwar has picked up 73 wickets with an economy rate of 6.93 and a strike rate of 20.0. In 2022, he has got 20 wickets in 15 innings at an average of 16.75 and a strike rate of 14.7 and an economy rate of 6.83. 12. Jasprit Bumrah Jasprit Bumrah celebrating Liam Livingstone’s wicket (Photo Source: Twitter/BCCI) Jasprit Bumrah is the spearhead of the Indian bowling unit and one of the most feared bowlers in the world. With his unorthodox, straight-arm action, he creates an awkward angle that skids off the surface onto the batters with good pace and bounce. This makes Bumrah hard to read and difficult to score runs against. He can also swing the ball and nip off the surface. He has one of the deadliest yorkers in the game and also has a deceptive slower ball. Bumrah, although can be an effective new ball bowler, might be used predominantly in the middle phase and in the death overs as he has done for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL. In 58 T20Is, he has got 69 wickets at an average of 19.46 and a strike rate of 18.0 with an economy rate of 6.46. 13. Arshdeep Singh Arshdeep Singh (Photo Source: Twitter) One of India’s emerging fast bowling talents is the 23-year-old tall, left-arm pacer from Punjab, Arshdeep Singh. After impressive outings in the IPL over the last few years, he earned his international debut on July 7 against England in the first T20I. Arshdeep played three matches for Punjab Kings (PBKS) in 2019 and he was retained by the franchise the following season. In 37 matches for PBKS, he picked up 40 wickets at a strike rate of 18.93 and an economy rate of 8.93. As of now, he has played four T20Is and scalped six wickets at an average of 16.83 and a strike rate of 15.5 with an economy rate of 6.51. As Harsha Bhogle wrote on Twitter, Arshdeep is passing every test he has been asked to appear on the international stage so far. 14. Yuzvendra Chahal Yuzvendra Chahal. (Photo Source: BCCI) Arguably the best white ball spinner in the country and one of the most skilful leg-spinners in the world, Yuzvenndra Chahal is the favourite to be the first-choice specialist spinner of India. He was dropped last year and missed out on making the T20 World Cup squad. But he has been an unstoppable force ever since. In 2022, Chahal has picked up 15 wickets in 12 games at an average of 18.13 and strike rate of 15.2 with an economy rate of 7.12, making it his most prolific year since 2017. He was also signed by Rajasthan Royals (RR) for the 2022 IPL season and finished as the highest wicket-taker with 27 wickets in 17 matches. Chahal is known for taking on top-quality batters by tossing up even if he goes for a few runs. He creates opportunities and gets some valuable wickets. He has got all the variations of a leggie from a genuine leg-spinner to a deceptive wrong-un to an effective slider. 15. Ravi Bishnoi Ravi Bishnoi. (Photo Source: Twitter/BCCI) One of India’s rising talents in the spin department is the Jodhpur-born leggie, Ravi Bishnoi. From being the top-wicket taker of the Under-19 World Cup in 2020 to making his senior debut two years later, he has become a force to reckon with and one of India’s future prospects. Bishnoi first caught the attention when he picked up a staggering 17 wickets in six games in the 2020 Under-19 World Cup with an average of 10.64 with an economy rate of 3.48. He was bought by Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 2020 IPL Auction and was nominated for the Emerging Player award that season. Bishnoi made his international in February against West Indies in a T20I in Kolkata and went on to win the Man of the Match for scalping two wickets for 17 runs in four overs. He has appeared in seven T20Is overall and has picked up nine wickets with an economy rate of 7.32.

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Asia Cup 2022: Predicting India's 15-member squad for the tournament

India won the previous two editions of the Asia Cup in 2016 and 2018.

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