India captain Virat Kohli believes his side can cope without Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the Asia Cup. The 25-year-old batsman takes the reins for the tournament in Bangladesh from regular skipper Dhoni, who misses out because of a side strain.
While Kohli gets a third stint captaining the side, after successful one-day series in the West Indies and Zimbabwe, Dhoni’s place in the side will go to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik.
And Kohli believes his side have the tools to cope in Dhoni’s absence.
“He’s been a very important player for us in the past few years and he’s led the team very well,” Kohli said. “We’ve been really consistent in the one-day format and one big reason has been his captaincy and consistency with his batting and finishing games for us. His not being there is a big change for us, but these guys will be eagerly waiting to grab their opportunity.
“Dinesh Karthik has been brought in as a replacement and he’s a very talented player.
“I’m sure he’ll be very keen to grab his opportunity and fill that spot, which is a difficult thing to do, but should be exciting for someone like Dinesh.”
India get their campaign under way tomorrow against hosts Bangladesh, one day after the tournament opener between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Afghanistan make up the lineup for their first major 50-over tournament having featured in the World Twenty20 in 2010 and 2012.
The five teams play each other once in a round-robin format, with the top two going on to face each other in the final in Mirpur on March 8.
For Kohli, who has won seven of the eight games he has captained so far, it is a big opportunity to prove himself as a skipper.
“It’s my first big tournament as captain,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it. We’ve got a young group of guys, very exciting players.
“It excites me to have a group to talk to and have a chat with and be on the same page. It’s important to have an understanding and I know all these guys pretty well.
“It’s really exciting for me to improve the record which is already good.”
Dhoni is not the only notable absentee from the tournament.
Sri Lanka are without Rangana Herath as his recovery from a knee operation continues, with Nuwan Kulasekara also sidelined by a knee injury.
Bangladesh have not risked batsman Tamim Iqbal, who recently suffered a neck injury, but is expected to be fit for the World Twenty20, while Shakib Al Hasan is suspended for the first two games.
Sri Lanka, who have the advantage of having won the Test, oneday and Twenty20 series in Bangladesh, are optimistic of faring well beginning with the opener against Pakistan today.
“We have played a lot against Pakistan and India,” captain Angelo Mathews said yesterday. “We know them and they also know us.”
“All the teams are even. They will want to win the matches. We also would like to win. Hopefully there will be a really good competition.”
Teams
Afghanistan
Captain: Mohammad Nabi
Squad: Dawlat Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Karim Sadiq, Mohammad Shahzad (WK), Nawroz Mangal, Rahmat Shah, Shapoor Zadran, Asghar Stanikzai, Fazal Niazai, Hamza Hotak, Mirwais Ashraf, Najibullah Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Samiullah Shenwari.
Coach: Kabir Khan
Cup record: Debutants
Bangladesh
Captain: Mushfiqur Rahim (WK)
Squad: Anamul Haque, Shamsur Rahman, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Ziaur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Naeem Islam, Sohag Gazi, Mashrafe Mortaza, Arafat Sunny, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Al-Amin Hossain.
Coach: Shane Jurgensen
Cup record: Runners-up 2012
India
Captain: Virat Kohli
Squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ambati Rayudu, Cheteshwar Pujara, Stuart Binny, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron, Ishwar Pandey. Coach: Duncan Fletcher
Cup record: Winners 1984, 1988, 1990-91, 1995, 2010; Runners-up 1997, 2004, 2008
Pakistan
Captain: Misbah-ul-Haq
Squad: Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal (WK), Fawad Alam, Shahid Afridi, Bilawal Bhatti, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Junaid Khan, Umar Gul, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Talha.
Coach: Moin Khan
Cup record: Winners 2000, 2012; Runners-up 1986
Sri Lanka
Captain: Angelo Mathews
Squad: Kusal Perera, Kumar Sangakkara (WK), Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Ashan Priyanjan, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Dhammika Prasad, Suranga Lakmal, Chathuranga de Silva.
Coach: Paul Farbrace
Cup record: Winners 1986, 1997, 2004, 2008; Runners-up 1984, 1988, 1990-91, 1995, 2000, 2010
Leading figures
Schedule
February 25 (Today)
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
February 26 (Tomorrow)
Bangladesh vs India
February 27 (Thursday)
Afghanistan vs Pakistan
February 28 (Friday)
India vs Sri Lanka
March 1 (Saturday)
Bangladesh vs Afghanistan
March 2 (Sunday)
India vs Pakistan
March 3 (Monday)
Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka
March 4 (Tuesday)
Bangladesh vs Pakistan
March 5 (Wednesday)
Afghanistan vs India
March 6 (Thursday)
Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka
March 7 (Friday)
Final
(All matches start at 12:00, UAE time and will be live on OSN Sports Cricket HD)
