Asia Cup 2023

‘I feel he could be the trump card’- Dinesh Kaneria backs Indian spinner to replace Avesh Khan against Hong Kong

India had a perfect start to their Asia Cup campaign as they defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by 5 wickets on Sunday (28 August). Hardik Pandya was the chief architect of the win in a last-over thriller. The Men in Blue’s next assignment will be against Hong Kong on August 31 (Wednesday).

Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria believed that Ravi Bishnoi should replace Avesh Khan in India’s playing XI for their match against Hong Kong. India went in with three frontline seamers in their game against Men in Green.

Kaneria, while speaking on his YouTube channel, highlighted the fact that the surfaces in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been favouring spin and opting for an extra spinner could help Rohit & Co. The former leg spinner also stated that India already have the luxury of three pace bowling options as allrounder Pandya can bowl his full quota of four overs.

“I feel getting Ravi Bishnoi in will make a major difference. He could be a real trump card for India. The conditions in the UAE are also going to help him. They already have three pacers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, and Hardik Pandya. They can get one more spinner and that would further strengthen their bowling,” he said.

It will be interesting if the team management will make any changes to the winning combination. If India are inclined towards selecting a spinner, they also have the veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in their ranks.

The 41-year-old also added that the Men in Blue might not be willing to make many changes to their winning composition but also pointed out the fact that the Rohit Sharma-led side have someone like Deepak Hooda in their squad who is in a rich vein of form.

“India will not want to make many changes to their playing XI as they know that they will have to play with the same lineup throughout the tournament. But they have someone like Deepak Hooda in their squad who is a future superstar. He is an exceptional player who knows how to score runs. He has been doing well consistently,” Kaneria added.

India would look to carry on the winning momentum as they take the field against Hong Kong and become the second team to qualify for the Super Fours. Afghanistan have already qualified for the next round