Dean Jones not concerned with Virat's absence in Asia Cup, says India not ‘one man team’

Indian captain Virat Kohli has been rested for the upcoming Asia Cup starting 15th of September and the decision has found a taker in former Australian batsman Dean Jones. He said India is not a one-man team and backed the choice of players like Manish Pandey and Khaleel Ahmed for the competition. The defending champions are clubbed with arch-rivals Pakistan in Group A and are likely to play them at least twice.

Ace batsman Rohit Sharma has been chosen as the captain of the squad which also has Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav making a comeback besides Pandey. Gloveman Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who recently completed 10,000 runs in ODIs, will be one of India’s key anchors in the tournament.

“India are 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 who is set to commentate during the Aisa Cup was quoted as saying on India TV.

Kohli was rested by the selectors for the two-week tournament keeping in mind the demanding series that India will play in Australia later this year and in early 2019. Kohli, who had skipped India’s one-off Test against Afghanistan in June, nursed a back injury during the second Test against England at Lord’s. He was reportedly doubtful for the third Test but went on to score 200 runs in that match to help India win. Kohli has scored 486 runs in seven Test innings in England so far and is by far the highest scorer for both sides in the series.

Jones, 57, is hopeful about the new-look Indian team and said it gave the youngsters an opportunity to cement their places. “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,” he said.

“Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) and (Jasprit) Bumrah will bowl at the death, they got a very good balance.”

Kohli or no Kohli, world will keenly watch India-Pakistan game’

India are scheduled to lock horns with Pakistan on September 19, a day after they play their first game against the qualifiers, and professor Deano is certain that the match will be keenly watched irrespective of the fact that Kohli features in it or not.

“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.

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