The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday, announced the squad for the upcoming ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2023, commencing on August 30.
The 17-member Indian contingent saw the return of middle-order batters KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer making their returns to the ODI side after being declared fit to play the Asia Cup.
Jasprit Bumrah has also returned to the ODI team after making his T20I return in the ongoing T20I series against Ireland. Bumrah last played an ODI game in July last year against England, before being ruled out with a back injury, which kept him out of action for almost a year.
Young batting prodigy Tilak Varma also received his maiden ODI call-up, after impressive performances in the T20I series against West Indies.
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Traveling stand-by…
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 21, 2023
India will kick off their Asia Cup with the much-anticipated clash against Pakistan on September 2 in Kandy.
The arch-rivals Pakistan and India will come face to face again on September 10 in Colombo if both manage to qualify for the Super 4s.
India’s Squad
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.
Travelling reserve: Sanju Samson
This year’s Asia Cup will commence with host Pakistan taking on Nepal in the curtain raiser on August 30 in Multan.
Pakistan will host a total of four matches including a Super 4s fixture, while the rest of the games including the final will be played in Sri Lanka.
The upcoming edition of the Asia Cup features six teams, divided into two groups, the top two teams from each group will then qualify for the Super 4s. The continental event will run from August 31 to September 17.
Hosts Pakistan are placed in the same group as arch-rivals India and Nepal while the other group includes defending champions and co-hosts Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The Asia Cup 2023 will be played in the ODI format and will serve as an opportunity for the Asian teams to bolster their preparations for the upcoming ICC Men’s World Cup.