Indian right-handed batsman Ambati Rayudu believes India can still dominate in the Asia Cup even in the absence of their skipper Virat Kohli.
The 14th edition of Asia Cup has just started with the opening encounter between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka where Bangladesh had a complete dominance.
India will come into the tournament as the champions of the last edition of Asia Cup which was played in T20 format. The defending champions are going to miss the services of their skipper Virat Kohli as he is given a rest for a long work load.
Ahead of the tournament Ambati Rayudu, Indian middle order batsman believes that his team can dominate in the tournament in the absence of their skipper too.
“Obviously he (Virat) is a big miss and loss to the team. However, we still have enough quality in the team to go out and win. He (Dhoni) has been India’s captain and always been the go-to man for everybody in the team.”
The right handed batsman was all set to make a come back in to the ODI team for England’s tour after a terrific IPL season. Unfortunately he failed to pass the yo-yo test and he was dropped from the squad. Now he is done with the Test and ready to make a come back.
“Obviously it was frustrating to miss out on the England tour. But I’m happy that I could come back, give the test and get picked to play in the Asia Cup. This year I played well in the IPL. The main thing is that I feel age doesn’t matter as long as you are fit,” he added about that bitter incident.
Further he is not much worried about the fixtures where India have to play in back to back days continuously. “I don’t think it will be a disadvantage. It will be definitely tough and I’m sure we will do the best possible things to recover and go out fresh to play the next game.”
