The much-awaited Indian squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 is likely to be announced on August 21. The team which will present India's challenge in the multi-nation tournament can be named after a meeting in the national capital on Monday.
As per a report of PTI, a meeting between national selectors and head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma will be held in Delhi. This will be a rare occasion that the head coach would be present for a selection meeting, something that did not happen when previous two coaches Ravi Shastri and Anil Kumble held the posts. The report adds that the selection panel is likely to announce the initial 15-member World Cup squad too.
Meanwhile a bigger squad for the Asia Cup is set to be picked. There is a provision of having 17 players for Asia Cup, two more than the World Cup squad limit.
"There is a possibility of picking the provisional 15-member squad for the World Cup which needs to be submitted by September 5 but one could make changes as the deadline for final squad is September 27," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity. "For Asia Cup, a couple of more players could be picked," it added.
Jasprit Bumrah set to give tough fight to Hardik Pandya for vice-captaincy
The report added that Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah is likely to give a tough fight to all-rounder and current ODI vice-captain for being Rohit Sharma's deputy in the ODI World Cup and the Asia Cup. A BCCI source told the news agency that Bumrah is more senior in terms of leadership and there is a reason why he is leading the team in the Ireland series. "If you look in terms of leadership seniority, Bumrah is ahead of Pandya as he captained the Test team in 2022. He has also been ODI vice-captain before Pandya during the ODI tour of South Africa," a BCCI source in the know of things told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
The source further even claimed that one should not be surprised to see Bumrah being Rohit's deputy in the Asia Cup and the World Cup. "Don't be surprised if you see Bumrah being made ODI deputy to Rohit for both Asia Cup and World Cup. There is a reason why he was handed the captaincy in Ireland instead of Ruturaj," it added.
