The Indian squad for the Asia Cup to be held in the UAE later this month has been announced. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a 15-member squad that includes Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. The former Indian captain returns to the blues after a break, while Rahul, skipper Rohit Sharma’s deputy, is back in action after recovering from injury.
The selectors ignored Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and Mohammed Shami who were expected to be included in the squad. With key bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel out due to injuries, it was expected that either Mohammed Siraj or Shami would be considered as pacers, but there was no such move from the selectors.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, and Avesh Khan are three specialist pacers in the squad. All-rounder Hardik Pandya is another pace option. Veteran players Dinesh Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin have found a place in the team.
Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravi Bishnoi are the other players in the squad. Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar and Axar Patel have been included as standby players.
The Asia Cup will be held from the 27th of this month to the 11th of September. The first match of the tournament is between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in the UAE. India-Pakistan match, which is eagerly awaited by cricket lovers, will be held on August 28 in Dubai.