2018 Asia Cup: Defending Champions India Need Big Guns To Fire In Absence Of Kohli

In the absence of Virat Kohli, India will need their big guns to fire if Men in Blue are to successfully defend the Asia Cup title in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this September.

Stand-in captain Rohit Sharma sure can win matches single-handedly like any other stars  in the team, but they are yet to reach Kohli's stature. And there's also the Pakistan-factor. Remember what happened in the final of ICC Champions Trophy. Pakistan are confident of beating India, againin a big tournament.

But the presence of senior players like former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, vice-captain Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, etc gives India the much needed stability even though the most successful team in the tournament is still smarting from the failed Test campaign in England, however irrelevant it may sound.

In the previous edition, albeit in a different format in Bangladesh two years ago, Kohli's India won all their matches – beating Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, UAE, and then Bangladesh again in the final – to lift the trophy for the sixth time. The skipper was also India's leading scorer with 153 runs, 15 more from Rohit's total.

Kohli's absence will be a huge blow to the team. And it would be interesting to see how India fare without the talismanic batsman.

Kohli has scored in the 71, 45, 75, 129 not out, 36, 75, 160 not out, 46, 112 and 113 in the last ten innings. And it's one enviable sequence of scores. Unfortunately for India though, he will not be playing in the UAE. The skipper has been given a well-deserved rest after the long and ardous series in England, where he dominated the proceedings.

Rohit himself has scored couple of hundreds in his last five knocks. Known for hitting big hundreds, what the 31-year-old need in this tournament is a bit of consistency. But he can take heart from the fact that Dhoni will be by side when India take the field.

The last time the tournament was played in the 50-overs's format, in 2014, India failed to make the title-round with Sri Lanka beating Pakistan in the final for their fifth continental title. India won two and lost two, against Lanka and Pakistan, in the five-nation tournament.

This time, the tournament will witness six teams with Hong Kong rubbing shoulders with the big boys. And it will be Rohit Sharma's India which will get the first bite on the minnows on Tuesday at Dubai.

A big win in the 'warm-up' against Hong Kong would give India confidence going into the high-octane match against Pakistan. Last time the neighbours meet, Pakistan thrashed India in London to win the ICC Champions Trophy. What India don't want is another defeat at the hands of Pakistan. It will make things unpalatable for a team which had just suffered back-to-back away Test series defeats.

Both India and Pakistan are billed as the favourites, and are likely to face each other in the title clash thanks to the very nature of the format.

In Rohit and Dhawan, India have one of the best white-ball opening pairs. Dhawan's explosive starts allow Rohit to build innings. Regarded as the best stroke maker in the sport, Rohit knows how to score big. He already has three doubles hundreds. That pretty much sums up everything.

India still have middle-over uncertainties though. Nobody knows who will bat at first and second down. But in Lokesh Rahul, Manish Pandey Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Yadav and Dhoni, India have got a plenty of fire-power. Hardik Pandya will fill in as the bowling all-rounder.

Bhuvi will lead the attack. The right-arm pacer is hungry and the Asia Cup will be a good testing ground for the comeback bowler after injury lay-off. He will get support from Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Tahkur and also Khaleel Ahmed, if the youngster gets the nod.

Spinners Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel are more than capable destroying any batting line-up. The Indian fingers spinners have a different aura, at least in the limited-overs' cricket.

The tournament started on Saturday with hosts Bangladesh taking on Sri Lanka at Dhaka. India will open their campaign against minnows Hong Kong on Tuesday (September 18) in Dubai.

India squad: India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan (vc), KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Khaleel Ahmed