India have announced their much awaited 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. The tournament is set to start on August 30 with Pakistan facing Nepal while India will start their campaign on September 2 against arch-rivals Pakistan in Kandy. As for the squad, Jasprit Bumrah makes the much-anticipated return after proving his fitness in the T20I series against Ireland. Meanwhile, KL Rahul is also back in the mix having recovered from the injury he sustained during the Indian Premier League (IPL). This is the strongest Indian squad named in quite some time and is good news for Indian cricket with ODI World Cup only 40-odd days away.
Contrary to the reports, Hardik Pandya continues to be India's vice-captain in the Asia Cup 2023. Earlier, it was speculated that Jasprit Bumrah, returning from injury, will be appointed the deputy to Rohit. The biggest surprise in the squad is inclusion of Tilak Varma who only made his international debut in the recently concluded T20I series against the West Indies. The left-hander made a stunning start to his career and has certainly got a wildcard entry in the squad.
Among exclusions, Sanju Samson is a big name but he is set to travel with the squad as a back-up player. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed that KL Rahul is carrying a niggle at the moment and hence, Samson has been named as a back-up. Moreover, Agarkar also stated that Rahul might not play against Pakistan but will get fit by the second and third match of Asia Cup 2023. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer has been declared fully fit.
Yuzvendra Chahal is also not a part of the squad and it is a huge miss. But the leg-spinner was not preferred in the playing XI as well over the last few months with Kuldeep Yadav featuring in almost all the matches.
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, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (Back Up)
