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You've got to be kidding,right?:) What kind of a record does Rahul have in the ODI format to begin with. Yes, he's a good player to watch when on song but he's very inconsistent.
My guess is Dhawan will be rested against probably Afghanistan & KL will get a go, he isn't exactly comfortable in the middle order against the spinners.

Why can't KL play at 3 replacing either DK or Rayudu?

He certainly can, that is what i thought originally would happen with Pandey at 4 but that doesn't seem to be the case. Team management isn't looking to experiment either.

Nobody in the current squad would want to bat 3. Kohli walks straight back to that slot :)

My view on KL is that he is highly inconsistent . He is a great talent no doubt . Im assuming people here want Kohli to give KL as many chances as Dhoni did to Rohit Sharma to make sure he establishes his place.

More than his inconsistency, he has not been picked consistently.
In 4 years he has played 29 tests with India having played 42 matches (in 48 innings he has 5 centuries and 11 half centuries with an avg of ~38.5 and SR of 58.5)
In 2 years he has played 12 ODIs with India having played 50 matches (in 11 innings he has 1 century and 1 half century with an avg of 32+ and SR of 78.5)
In 2 years he has played 19 T20Is with India having played 31 matches (in 17 innings he has 2 centuries and 4 half centuries with an avg of ~50 and SR of 155)
This is quite a decent record who is consistently dropped from the team.

Like him Rahane has also faced consistent drops from the team. Rahane's form has been affected more than Rahul I feel due to this.
I'll take Rahul anyday instead of Jadhav, DK or Pandya

Coming to this Asia cup...I was never interested as it was a no contest even before it began. India will win it easily. None of the current other teams can hold a candle.
None of the batting performances of Indian players is worth anything IMHO. Simply because it's not at all a competition of equals.
But with this performance, our coach will say that the current team is the best ever Asian team :Frustrati lol:

Regarding KL's case, I guess that the Indian think tank feels that he performs best when he plays at 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions, all of which that are well occupied at the moment.
The other hypothesis can be that they are sure about KL's talent but in the Asia cup they wanted to test out others in the name of Rayadu and Karthik. If you ask me I would pick KL any day in front of them.
Feel bad for Pant that he is unable to get a chance in the ODIs, thanks to Dhoni. I hope in the meantime Pant works on his wicket keeping and after 2019 world cup when Dhoni retires he becomes the wicket keeper. He is very young and can be groomed well.
Don't want to start a debate but I guess Dhoni even without being much effective with bat is a huge asset. His wicket keeping skills are unmatched and so are his DRS calls.

Dhawan now has scored two centuries this Asia Cup. Mission accomplished for Shastri I guess. Now Dhawan will make the test team against the WI based on his Asia Cup performance, will pile up cheap runs at home and get his ticket reserved for Australia.

Rinse and repeat. People already seem to have forgotten the 1-4 debacle in England.

Also, I Won't be surprised if our amazing coach finds a way to get Rohit back in test team as well. Shastri/Kohli combo are brilliant in selecting the wrong choices.
BTW, never thought I will see the day when Afghanistan matches are more thrilling than the big names. This tournament has been a drag otherwise.

You're just imagining things. This is the best Indian team in the last few years :D (they conveniently don't specify in what format though since that can change each time).

Dhawan is in sublime form against teams he plays the best against and also the pitches suit our team best and no one remembers what happened recently in South Africa and England (heck they were well fought tours and quite close, final result could have been different, etc etc..you get the drift).

Well, I just hope this tournament isn't one where India wins all matches to go into the final and lose just that one match!

That is a distinct possibility! The middle order hasn't really been tested. If the openers get out cheaply in the final, it could be deja vu all over again!

How can anyone even hope this middle order to do well is beyond me. It collapsed even against Hong Kong :Frustrati

The best touring Indian side in the last 15 to 20 years couldn't cross the line against the newest test playing nation in the world. But good thing is they competed. They were not outplayed. The scoreline(tie) doesn't suggest the reality. It could've been easily won lol:

Felt really sorry for Afghanistan though. They should've won all 3 matches of this round actually. They deserved to be in the finals more than any other team.

Well, looks like it'll be India Vs Bangladesh in the final.

Will the naagin dance this time ?

Wow, looks like another possibility for a last over finish.

Pandya and Karthik earlier. Who will it be this time? I hope we finish this off clinically (edit: in our favour!).