India have revealed their long anticipated 17-member squad for the forthcoming Asia Cup. The tournament is scheduled to start on August 30 and will see Pakistan taking on Nepal and India will kick off with their first game on the 2nd of September when they face their arch-rivals Pakistan at Kandy. For the team, Jasprit Bumrah returns to the team having proved his fit during his T20I match against Ireland. Additionally, KL Rahul is back on the field recovering from the injury he suffered during his participation in the Indian Premier League ( IPL). This is the most powerful Indian team to be named in a long time, and is a good thing for Indian cricket, especially with the ODI World Cup only 40-odd days away.
Contrary to what is reported, Hardik Pandya is still India’s vice captain for the Asia Cup 2023. It was previously speculated that Jasprit Bumrah who has returned from injury, would be named the replacement for Rohit. The biggest surprise of the squad is the inclusion of Tilak Varma, who had his first international appearance during the recent T20I match against West Indies. The left-hander had a spectacular debut and certainly has an unofficial spot into the team.
There are a few exclusions. Sanju Samson is a big name but he’s scheduled to travel with the team as a backup player. Chief selection officer Ajit Agarkar has confirmed KL Rahul has an injury at present which is why Samson is being named an alternative. In addition, Agarkar also stated that Rahul may not be able to play against Pakistan but he will be fit for the third and second match of the Asia Cup 2023. In the meantime, Shreyas Iyer has been declared fit.
Yuzvendra Chahal has also not in the team and is a huge loss. However, the leg-spinner wasn’t chosen in the XI that played in the past couple of months, with Kuldeep Yadav playing in nearly all the games.
Indian Squad for Asia Cup And World Cup 2023
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Traveling stand-by…
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 21, 2023
India squad for Asia Cup 2023:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (VC), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, KuldeepYadav,
Back Up List –
Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson
