The BCCI announced the India squad for the upcoming Asia Cup on Monday. Rohit Sharma will be leading the team with KL Rahul as vice-captain.
The selection committee has made a stunning move by handing vice-captaincy to KL Rahul who has just returned to full fitness after a long break due to a groin injury and a positive covid-19 diagnosis.
Former captain, Virat Kohli, last seen during India’s tour to England will also be making a comeback to the squad.
Injuries have ruled out fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. Now Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be the leading seamer along with Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan.
The retained player is Deepak Hooda while the standby players are Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel. Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan miss out.
“Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel were not available for selection owing to injuries. They are currently undergoing rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru.
Three players – Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, and Deepak Chahar have been named as standbys,” BCCI said in a statement.
As spinners, India only has 4 options namely Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, and Ravindra Jadeja alongside Ravichandran Ashwin who was an effective return in T20 cricket against West Indies. Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik are the two wicket-keeping options.
India squad for Asia Cup 2022
Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(Wk), Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik (Wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.
Standby: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel.
The 20th edition of this mega tournament will commence on 27 August and will end on September 11 in UAE.
India being the defending champions and the most successful team in the tournament’s history will begin its campaign with an adrenaline-fueled clash against Pakistan on August, 28.
Five teams finalized for the Asia Cup are India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. A qualifier will determine one more team between Kuwait, UAE, Hong Kong and Singapore.
