Team India finally announced their 17-member squad for the Asia Cup along with a press conference in Delhi addressed by Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and skipper Rohit Sharma on Monday, August 21. The selection committee pulled off a couple of surprises with the inclusion of the 20-year-old Tilak Varma in the main ODI squad for the first time and the omission of veteran leggie Yuzvendra Chahal, who has been out of favour for the Men in Blue in the format as far as finding a place in the XI is concerned.
The biggest news from the squad and the happiest one was the inclusion of both Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul who were recovering from their respective injuries. While Agarkar did mention that Rahul might be still doubtful for the opening game against Pakistan but Iyer has been passed fit.
There are quite a few changes in the squad that played against the West Indies in the three-match ODI series till the start of this month. Here's a look at the full list of changes in India's ODI squad for Asia Cup 2023:
IN:
As mentioned above, the biggest inclusions are Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Tilak Varma. It is the first ODI call-up for Varma after having played in the T20Is against the West Indies and then Ireland. Apart from these three, Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna have returned to the ODI squad after spending almost a year on the sidelines. Both are performing really well in the ongoing T20I series in Ireland and the whole of India will hope that they can keep up their fitness in the Asia Cup as well. Apart from these two, Mohammed Shami has also returned to the ODI side after being rested from the West Indies tour.
OUT:
Chahal was probably the biggest exclusion from the Asia Cup squad. Sanju Samson was another big miss, who is limited to reserves as Suryakumar Yadav was preferred ahead of him despite low returns. Other players to be left out of the side are Ruturaj Gaikwad, who will be leading the second-string side in the Asian Games next month, and the pace trio of Mukesh Kumar, Umran Malik and Jaydev Unadkat, none of whom has been picked even in the standbys.
India's squad for Asia Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj
Traveling standby: Sanju Samson
