India set to test its bench strength against UAE

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has stated that India has decided to test its reserve bench against United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the final league encounter of the Asia Cup on Thursday. The Indians are currently unbeaten in the multi-nation tournament with three wins and are already in the finals.

The India skipper said that the UAE match will be a platform to give an opportunity to all those who have till now warmed the benches. This clearly means that couple players from the quartet of Ajinkya Rahane, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are likely to get a game.

“We’ll definitely make a few changes in the coming games. How many we can you know, that’s something we will have to see. Because we still want the strength and the composition of the side to be very good,” Dhoni said.

“I think most of the players will definitely get a chance in the next game. Whether all the people who are sitting outside will get a chance, we’re not sure. But we will try to make as many changes as possible,” he added.

The most likely change India can make would be Ajinkya Rahane. Rahane had got an opportunity to play in the game against Pakistan. He had replaced the injured Dhawan but could perform. But, that match can be taken as an exception because of Mohammad Amir’s fantastic spell which had blown the Indian top order. Shikhar Dhawan is also not in great form and has looked uncomfortable on wickets which has a bit more swing and carry. Therefore, he deserves a second chance and MS Dhoni can provide him that chance in the upcoming game.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who once led the Indian bowling attack, is currently struggling to get his mojo back. He can also fancy a chance in the UAE game if skipper decides to rest Ashish Nehra, who has played nine T20 games in a month.

UAE is a weak opponent which may also give Dhoni an opportunity to test Harbhajan Singh and Pawan Negi. The duo can easily replace Ashwin-Jadeja pair. Their inclusion would also not hurt the strategy of the off-spin-left-arm spin combination. Negi has warmed the benches ever since his inclusion in the team and must be given chance to test his ability.