KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer return as India announce squad for Asia Cup

The All India Selection Committee has announced a 17-man squad for the Asia Cup as KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer return to the team. The chief selector Ajit Agarkar has confirmed that Iyer has regained full fitness whereas Rahul is carrying a niggle, which is not related to the injury he was carrying.

Ergo, Rahul could miss a game or two in the Asia Cup and Sanju Samson has been named as the backup. Jasprit Bumrah, who is leading India in the ongoing three-match T20I series against Ireland, also returns to the ODI setup. Suryakumar Yadav holds his place in the team despite low returns in the recent past.

Tilak Varma, who impressed on the recent West Indies tour, scoring 173 runs in the five-match T20I series, has been fast-tracked into the ODI team. Prasidh Krishna is also included in the squad and he will have the company of fast bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur.

“In West Indies, we saw some real promise in terms of not just performances but the temperament,” chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar said of Varma’s selection. “And it gives us an opportunity to take him with the team, give him some more exposure; a left-hander again, looks very promising. So fortunately we can take 17 here, it’ll be 15 at the World Cup. So when the time comes we’ll take that decision, but at the moment it at least gives the coach and captain an opportunity to have him with the squad.”

But Yuzvendra Chahal could not find a place in the squad as skipper Rohit Sharma emphasized the fact they want a bowler who could bat a bit at number eight and nine.

“We had a deep discussion about an offspinner and a legspinner as well,” Rohit said after the squad was announced. “But see, things boil down to batting options at Nos. 8 and 9. We wanted someone who can bat there. Axar had a good run this year, did well in white-ball cricket… With him being there, it allows us that option of firstly having that left-hander who can go up and play the spinners and then he creates for us that batting depth. We talked about Ashwin and Washington as well. As you saw, even Chahal missed out because we can only get 17 players in.”

Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (backup)