Manav Singh, Pune
21st August saw the announcement of the Men’s Indian Cricket Team for this year’s edition of the Asia Cup by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India). The selection panel was led by Ajit Agarkar, with the Indian Coach, Rahul Dravid, and the Indian Captain, Rohit Sharma. 17 Cricket players are selected for the series.
The Indian players selected for the Asia Cup 2023 are Rohit Sharma as the Captain, Hardik Pandya as the vice-captain, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna and Sanju Samson.
India’s ODI middle order batters Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are returning after recovering from the injuries they sustained. Rahul and Iyer’s involvement is a fitness check for the duo, who went through a series of match-simulation workouts and practice matches to determine their suitability for ODIs. Sanju Samson has been selected as the backup player of the squad, while Tilak Varma has received his maiden call-up for ODIs.
The Men in Blue are placed third in the ICC Men’s ODI Team Rankings heading into the competition. After losing to Australia 1-2 at home, India won its most recent ODI series 2-1 against the West Indies in the Caribbean. The Rohit Sharma-led team began the year with a bang, sweeping Sri Lanka and New Zealand 3-0 at home. This year, India has won nine of its twelve matches.