KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer have returned from injuries to be named in India's 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. Young IPL star Tilak Verma too has been named in the squad that also sees the return of Jasprit Bumrah after his successful comeback from injury during the ongoing T20I series against Ireland.
KL Rahul though isn't fully fit and so the Sanju Samson has been named as the a travelling stand-by player for the squad.
'Shreyas has been declared completely fit though Rahul, not with his original injury, but he has another niggle. That's why Sanju is travelling with the team. He is expected to be fit, if not at the start of the Asia Cup then by maybe the second or the third game,' clarified chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
The selection meeting in the capital was headed by new Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar with skipper Rohit Sharma and the rest of the selection panel in attendance.
The Indian team open their Asia Cup campaign on 2 September with the match against Pakistan, following which they play Nepal on 4 September. Both Group A matches will be played at the Pallekele Stadium in Sri Lanka. Following the group stage matches, the Super Fours games will be played from 6 September to 15 September, before the final on 17 September at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Before travelling to Sri Lanka though, the Indian team will gather in Bengaluru for a six day preparatory camp.
Indian Squad For 2023 Asia Cup
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna. Sanju Samson (reserve player).
The submission deadline for the squads of the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup is set for 5 September by the ICC and with the Indian team playing no ODI between now and then, and barring injuries, the World Cup squad is expected to be on the lines of the Asia Cup squad.
'It's really a no-brainer,' said chief selector Ajit Agarkar when asked about the impending World Cup selection. 'We've picked these 18 guys, it'll be in and around these around these guys. There are a few guys returning from injuries, hope all goes well for them. There's a short camp followed by a couple of (Asia Cup) games before we announce the World Cup squad, so it will be around these guys only,' he added.
KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer were the two injury concerns ahead of the selection but both players seem to have passed their fitness tests and have included in the squad.
KL Rahul has been out of action since getting injured during Lucknow Super Giants' IPL 2023 match on 1 May. He suffered a significant tear to his tendon in the right thigh and had undergone a surgery in England. Following his recovery, Rahul has been undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
The middle-order batting had emerged as an area of concern for the Indian ODI with in the absence of Shreyas Iyer who got injured during the Border-Gavaskar series in March and missed out on the entire IPL season that followed. He has also been in rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru. The team has tried Suryakumar Yadav in his spot, without must tangible results.
Along expected lines, Jasprit Bumrah makes his comeback to the Indian ODI side as well, after missing international cricket for nearly a year due to injuries. He made his comeback in the ongoing T20I series against Ireland, where he is captaining the side, but the Asia Cup will be his first outing in the 50-over format. Fellow seamer Prasidh Krishna, who also made his comeback in the Ireland series after a back surgery, has been selected.
'Bumrah and Krishna have worked really hard for the last few months and they fortunately look good now. Shreyas has been passed fit and has played three 50 over games at the NCA. KL Rahul has a niggle, it has nothing to do with his previous injury and from what we've been told, it shouldn't be too bad,' said Ajit Agarkar while informing about the injury updates in the squad.
Mohammed Shami makes a comeback after being rested for the entire tour of West Indies, while Mohammed Siraj and allrounders Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur complete the pace attack.
Leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has been dropped from the squad, with Kuldeep Yadav preferred as the wrist-spinner along with allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.
Ishan Kishan was chosen over Sanju Samson as the second wicketkeeper in the squad, after Rahul. Samson, however, will travel to Sri Lanka as a reserve player.
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