The team has been announced for the Asia Cup. The selectors have come as a surprise by including Tilak Verma in the ODI squad for the first time. He can become an option for India at number four. Sanju Samson is also on the team as a backup.
The Indian team has been announced for the Asia Cup. KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer have returned to the team. Both were out due to injury for a long time. Now both are back. At the same time, Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna are also making a comeback in the ODI team. Both of them were also injured. Tilak Verma will be the new face of the team.
The selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar surprised Tilak by choosing him. He recently made his T20 debut on the West Indies tour. The Asia Cup is going to start on 30th August. The selectors have announced the squad of 18 players. There is a squad of 17 players and Sanju Samson will be the backup wicketkeeper (18th man). Yuzvendra Chahal was dropped from the team.
These four players returning to ODIs after injury:
Shreyas played the last ODI on 15 January 2023 against Sri Lanka. At the same time, Rahul played the last ODI against Australia on 22 March 2023. Shreyas had a groin injury, while Rahul sat out the IPL with a thigh injury. The return of these two has strengthened the Indian middle order.
Bumrah, who returned to international cricket after almost a year through the T20 series against Ireland, played the last ODI against England at Lord’s on 14 July 2022. At the same time, fast bowler Prasidh Krishna played the last ODI against Zimbabwe on 20 August 2022.
Hardik Pandya only vice-captain:
There were speculations that the vice-captaincy could be snatched away from Hardik and given to Bumrah. However, the selectors continued to trust Hardik and he will be seen as vice-captain of Team India in the Asia Cup. All-rounder Hardik Pandya has also captained the team in ODIs in the absence of Rohit Sharma in recent matches. He is also leading the team in T20 format.
Opposite the World Cup, the Asia Cup rules allow a 17-man squad. Bangladesh and Pakistan have selected 17-member squads. This year the Asia Cup will be co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The first match will be played on August 30 between Pakistan and Nepal in Multan.
Team India for Asia Cup:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (Vice-Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
Backup: Sanju Samson
