(Cricket news) The mega opening clash between India and Pakistan at the Asia Cup is just around the corner. The eyes of the cricketing world will be on that clash. India will be looking for revenge after the heavy defeat against Pakistan at the T20 World Cup last year. India's squad isn't the strongest as the two seam bowlers Harshal Patel and Jasprit Bumrah are out with injuries. Pakistan also have a similar problem as Shaheen Afridi is also ruled out with an injury. India has a few things which aren't ideal and will definitely be a concern.
The biggest concern is the fast bowling department. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the leader who is an incredible asset with his abundance of experience. The other two seamers Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan are very young in their international career and lack big tournament experience. The absence of Bumrah is going to be a big one, particularly for his pace and explosiveness. The fact India have.. called up only 3 seamers to the squad suggests that they are going to play 2 spinners, 2 seamers along with Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya as the all-rounders. Yuzvendra Chahal is definitely going to be in the playing XI while there is an option between Ravi Bishnoi and Ravichandran Ashwin as the other.
The form of Virat Kohli has been highlighted quite a bit and it is a concern. A bad performance in the Asia Cup could result in Kohli getting dropped. India will be hoping that the former skipper will get going right from the first game. KL Rahul has had a tough time with injuries and hasn't had a lot of match practice recently. He did play against Zimbabwe but couldn't get a substantial score. India need their top 3 to fire on all cylinders because the middle order is in pretty good form. The biggest immediate concern is that head coach Rahul Dravid has tested positive for Covid 19 and could miss the entire tournament. VVS Laxman has been head coach for 2 series so far and would take his place if Dravid doesn't recover in time.
Also read: Takeaways from India's comfortable whitewash against Zimbabwe
