Former Australian cricketer Dean Jones echoes the decision of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to rest Virat Kohli for the Asia Cup. India will take part in the upcoming Asia Cup, starting from September 15. The tournament will take place in UAE.
The men in blue will lock horns with Pakistan for the first time since the Champions Trophy clash last year. However, skipper Kohli has been given rest to manage his heavy schedule. Kohli is currently leading his side against England. He has already scored a couple of hundreds and fifties respectively.
India will tour Australia later this year. And therefore, the management want Kohli fresh and running for the all-important series. The selectors have named a 16 men squad for the Asia Cup on Saturday. Jones feels it will be a good opportunity for the youngsters to step up.
“India is not a one-man team. No one’s going to replace Kohli, but I’ll tell you what, it is an unbelievable opportunity for Pandey, Ambati Rayudu, and these boys, and don’t forget M.S. Dhoni,” Jones said.
Dean Jones impressed with India’s bowling depth
Jones, who keeps himself occupied with commentary and other commitments, is impressed with the squad. He also feels India have got the right set of bowlers, both in the pace and spine departments. “I think it’s a great team led by Rohit Sharma, they got their bowlers right who can reverse swing and at the death, 25-30 overs will be bowled for the spinners. They got (Yuzvendra) Chahal, Kuldeep (Yadav) and Axar Patel bowling beautifully. Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) and (Jasprit) Bumrah will bowl at the death, they got a very good balance,” he added.
The much-anticipated Indo-Pak encounter will take place on September 19 at the Dubai International Stadium. “It is all about Blue for them (the Indian team) and trust me, when Green meets Blue, there will be excitement and fireworks,” he said.
Conclusion:
Even though fans will miss out on a Kohli-Amir face-off but the prospect of India playing their arch-rivals sounds promising. Apart from the two heavyweights, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and a qualifier will grace the event. The sub-continental sides have done fairly well in limited overs cricket lately, and therefore the tournament promises to be one exciting affair.