Virat Kohli, KL Rahul return for Asia Cup 2022; Jasprit Bumrah ruled out with back injury

Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli and opening batter KL Rahul have returned to Indian squad for the Asia Cup 2022 while gun fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out with a back injury. Kohli was rested for the West Indies tour and will also not play in the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe.

KL Rahul, on the other hand, will return to competitive cricket after leading Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL. Rahul was ruled out with a groin injury in the series against South Africa, in which he was expected to lead and then underwent Sports Hernia surgery in Germany. The opener’s return to the squad was delayed as he was recently tested positive for Covid-19.

Furthermore, Harshal Patel also misses out with a sidestrain injury and he is also doubtful for the T20 World Cup.

Young players like Deepak Hooda, Arshdeep Singh and Ravi Bishnoi, who have all performed consistently in the recent past, have been retained by the national selectors. However, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar and Axar Patel are named as standby players.

Ravichandran Ashwin, who had a good series against West Indies, is also there in the squad for the Asia Cup. Along with Ashwin, India will have the services of spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi and Ravindra Jadeja.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be the leader of the pack with Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan and Hardik Pandya as his support cast. But there was no place for Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson in the squad.

Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Yuzvendra Chahal.

India will begin their Asia Cup 2022 campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai.