The Indian team, sans Virat Kohli, would be taking on Hong Kong in their Asia Cup 2018 opener, on Tuesday. Stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma would be leading the team in his absence. All eyes would be on the returning Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as India would be looking to find perfect combinations before ICC World Cup 2019.

A lot would depend on the senior pros in the side perform as tournament proceeds. Much of India’s success would hinge on how MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Vice-captain Shikhar Dhawan, and the duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar performs. It will also see the return of the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Indian Squad for Asia Cup 2018: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, M.S. Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Dinesh Karthik, Khaleel Ahmed.

Much of the Indian XI selects by itself. The conundrum that Rohit would face is who will play on the fourth and sixth spot. Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav make a good case for those spots, as even Rohit said that Rayudu and Jadhav are two important members of the team. Asia Cup 2018 Schedule in PDF for Free Download: Timetable With List of All Matches in IST Including India vs Pakistan Fixture.

In the bowling department too, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Kuldeep, and Chahal will find an automatic place in the side. In the blue jersey, Hardik Pandya will also be an automatic choice for the Indian team.

There are high chances that Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey will have to warm the bench against Hong Kong and so will Shardul Thakur, and Khaleel Ahmed.

India’s Probable XI Against Hong Kong: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan (vc), KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah.

India will be watchful of fielding a full-strength side against Hong Kong as their next tie is with Pakistan, and that too, on the next day. The outing against Hong Kong would be a relatively easy one, as compared to the tie against Pakistan. Asia Cup 2018 Schedule of India Matches for Free PDF Download: Timetable with Fixture & Dates When Indian Will Play Including Pakistan Clash.

Come Tuesday, India would look to find perfect team combination and look for a big win against the minnows. Stay tuned with us for all the latest updates about Asia Cup 2018!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 17, 2018 08:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).