India Squad Asia Cup: Deepak Hooda vs Shreyas Iyer: There is huge competition for places in the batting department in the Indian team for the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup. And as for the continental competition, starting later this month, Deepak Hooda is all set to be picked head of Shreyas Iyer as number three back up in the upcoming Asia Cup 2022. The Indian team, which is expected be announced on Monday, will have no place for Sanju Samson too. Follow Asia Cup 2022 Live updates with InsideSport.IN
Hooda has made himself almost undroppable with solid performances with the bat in the shorter format. However, it is just the opposite when it comes to Iyer, who has had a string of poor scores. As for Samson, the Kerala batter, despite being one of the talented batters in India, have never lived up to the expectations. He has been too inconsistent.
So the competition is primarily between Iyer and Hooda. Iyer even played the first three T20s against the WestIndies, but still he failed to impress. He has scored 34 runs in three matches, which does not augur well. It is not only about the runs alone, he does not look too confidence at the crease.
Compare that to Hooda, who has been amongst the runs whenever he has got a chance to feature for Team India. He has scores of 21, 47 not out, 104 and 33 in his last four T20 matches though he has not got a chance in the T20s against West Indies. It is such contrasting form, which will force the selectors to pick Hooda ahead of Iyer for the Asia Cup as the number three back up.
Why Hooda is ahead of Iyer in pecking order?
- Hooda has never failed to impress in the last two months while representing Team India
- He even scored a T20 hundred recently
- Iyer has been below par in the T20 format
- Hooda can be used a floater in the playing XI as the batter can finish off innings as well
- He is more than handy with the ball if required
12 internationals for Deepak Hooda; 12 wins for Team India. #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/gmKbU0L8KJ
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) August 3, 2022
Virat Kohli still number three: It is important to note that the senior players of the Indian team, including Virat Kohli will also be in the team for the series in the Asia Cup. The team is also expected to see the return of KL Rahul, who is expected to open alongside Rohit Sharma.
Kohli will be batting in his usual position at number three in the Asia Cup. But the batter will be under pressure. With an inform Hooda as an alternative number three, the former Indian captain will be aware of the need to score runs under his belt, especially more so as the T20 World Cup is just around two months away.
