Tilak Verma and Prasidh Krishna have also been added to the squad along with Shardul as the second fast-bowling all-rounder
After days of speculation, India has finally named its squad for the Asia Cup 2023. The biggest takeaways from the squad are the inclusion of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul along with Prasidh Krishna as the fourth fast bowler and Tilak Verma who has earned his maiden ODI call-up. Yuzvendra Chahal has not been included in the 17-member squad while Sanju Samson has been added as the traveling reserve because there is uncertainty over the availability of KL Rahul who has been carrying a slight niggle but has recovered from the thigh injury that he suffered during IPL. Another big news that came out during the press conference was that Hardik Pandya has been retained as the vice-captain of the team after it was speculated that Jasprit Bumrah might take up the role of the vice-captain following Hardik’s poor captaincy in the series against West Indies but the selectors have shown faith in the all-rounder’s leadership capabilities.
Chahal Dropped
Talking about Chahal the exclusion of the leg spinner hasn’t come as a surprise as he hasn’t been in great form since the IPL and his performance was also not as per expectations during the recently concluded series against West Indies. Also, the fact that only 17 players were permitted to be picked in the squid went against him as he was dropped from the team. With the squad set to be reduced to further 15 players for the World Cup chances of Chahal making it to the squad for the mega event in India look quite slim although the Indian captain hasn’t ruled his chances of making it to the World Cup squad
The Surprise
Talking about the inclusion of Tilak Verma chief selector Ajit Agarkar said “In West Indies, we saw some real promise in terms of not just performances but the temperament.” “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.”
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)
