The Asia Cup 2018 is just a few days away. The mega event which will be held in UAE will witness the participation of six nations from the sub-continent. The Asia Cup will begin on September 15, 2018, with the match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The nations will be further divided into two Groups – A and B. The Group A consists of India, Pakistan and Hong Kong. Whereas Group B has Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Hong Kong came in to join the Group A after they defeated UAE a few days ago. We already got you the key players to watch out from the participating squads. Now, let’s talk about the final squads that have been declared by the team for the event.

India

Talking about India, Virat Kohli will remain absent from the mega tournament in UAE due to the additional workload that he has been through. Rohit Sharma will be leading the team in his absence. Check out the full squad of the Indian team.

Team: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan (vc), K L Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Khaleel Ahmed.

Pakistan

Pakistan is labelled to be one of the hot favourites for winning the Asia Cup 2018. Sarfaraz Ahmed will be the captain for the tournament. Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan and Asif Ali are said to be the key players for the tournament.

Team: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shan Masood, Sarfraz Ahmed(c), Shoaib Malik, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Usman Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Asif Ali, Mohammad Amir.

Hong Kong

The team might have not a permanent ODI but they have played 24 50 over matches. In 2004 Asia Cup, they lost matches against Bangladesh and Pakistan and thus were eliminated from the tournament. Same was in 2008 Asia Cup when they lost to India and Pakistan. As of now, there has been an official announcement on the squads but this could be the likely combination.

Team: Babar Hayat (c), Aizaz Khan, Anshy Rath, Christopher Carter, Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, Scott McKechnie, Nadeem Ahmed, Nizakat Khan, Kinchit Shah, Shahid Wasif, Simandeep Singh, Tanveer Ahmed, Tanwir Afzal, Waqas Barkat, Ahsan Abbasi

Afghanistan

Afghanistan has a perfect blend of experience and youth in their squad. On one hand, where the team enjoys the services of the youngsters like Rashid Khan and Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, Mohammad Nabi can lay a vital role in the team due to his experience in all formats of the game.

Team: Asghar Afghan (c), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Ihsanullah Janat, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Hashmat Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Najibullah Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Aftab Alam, Samiullah Shinwari, Munir Ahmad Kakar (wk), Sayed Ahmad Sherzad, Sharafudin Ashraf, Yamin Ahmadzai

Sri Lanka

The Lankans are not even considered to be the favourites for the Asia Cup 2018. All thanks to the issues in their board of late. However if they forget the past and look to the future, they can win the tournament and regain their lost glory.

Team: Angelo Mathews (Captain), Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal, Danushka Gunathilaka, Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Dhanajaya de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Dilruwan Perera, Amila Aponso, Kasun Rajitha, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera and Lasith Malinga.

Bangladesh

Team Bangladesh might have never won the Asia Cup, but they have done quite well in the International tournaments. In Asia Cup, Bangladesh’s best finish was in 2014 and 2016 (T20) edition when they managed to reach final but lost to Pakistan and India respectively. Check out the squad for this year.

Team: Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ariful Haque, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Nazmul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Hider Rony, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 09, 2018 01:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).