India squad for Asia Cup 2023: KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma named in 17-member squad

That concludes the press conference with Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar. We leave you with the 17-player Asia Cup squad.

Rohit Sharma: “Injuries are part and parcel of the game. England, Australia have injuries too. We try and do the best we can. Get others to fit in and do the role. You can only hope for the best. Now that they’re back, we want to look at the positives.”

“We had a deep discussion about an off and leg spinner. Where it all boils down to is about someone who can bat at No 8 and No 9. Axar has had a good run, batted well in white ball cricket. With him being there, it allows us to have a left-hander, to have up the order, and even create the batting depth.”

“We talked about Ashwin and Washington. Like with Chahal, we had to make the tough decision of not including Chahal also. But no door is closed for anyone. Chahal has played a lot of white baal cricket, if we think we need him, we will find a way to squeeze him in. Same for Ashwin and Washington”

???? India squad for Asia Cup 2023

Rohit Sharma(c) 
Shubman Gill
Virat Kohli
Shreyas Iyer
KL Rahul(wk) 
Suryakumar Yadav
Tilak Varma
Ishan Kishan(wk) 
Hardik Pandya
Ravindra Jadeja
Axar Patel
Shardul Thakur
Jasprit Bumrah
Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Siraj
Kuldeep Yadav
Prasidh Krishna

India’s Asia Cup vice-captain

Sanjay Manjrekar believes Jasprit Bumrah should be India’s vice-captain. Bumrah made a winning start as an India captain, taking the team to a 2-0 lead in Ireland. The third T20I will take place on Wednesday

India’s Asia Cup squad LIVE

Sanjay Manjrekar on Star Sports: “I think most issues seem to address that the batter is in pretty good form. India of course have to ponder on the Suryakumar Yadav case because 50 overs cricket is not quite making the same impact but he will be such a big temptation on a big stage when he walks in with just 15-17 overs left in the innings, can be a game changer. So that is an issue India need to sort of finalise whether they want , Suryakumar Yadav, so that is one loose and they need to tie.”

“Hardik Pandya’s form is a little bit of concern, his bowling because you will have to do a lot of physical work in the world cup because you need him as the all-rounder not just a batter so at least 6-7 over per innings is what is expected from him. When India won the world in 2011, it was because of people like Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh pure batters who bowled a bit, so Hardik Pandya’s bowling is very important.”

“I guess in the spin department Chahal needs to rise to the occasion in the 50 overs format to get those crucial wickets along with Kuldeep Yadav because Jadeja will be your containment bowler. I think the same department is always going to be a bit of gamble with all teams considering the pitches and sizes of the grounds in India.”

India’s Asia Cup squad LIVE

Sanjay Manjrekar on Star Sports: “(If) KL Rahul is fit, then he is India’s number one wicketkeeper. If he isn’t, then India start looking at Ishan Kishan or Sanju Samson. For me, Kishan is the number two choice because he’s a left hander, which is why you also have Tilak Varma in the consideration.”

India’s Asia Cup schedule:

2 Sept: India vs Pakistan

4 Sept: India vs Nepal

This will be followed by the Super Four stage – if India progress (which they most likely will)

The men who matter

India’s selection committee includes Ajit Agarkar, Shiv Sundar Das, Subroto Banerjee, Salil Ankola and Sridharan Sharath.

India’s Asia Cup squad selection LIVE

Sanju Samson has seemingly failed to make himself count and is not in the running anymore. Against West Indies, he played two of three ODIs and played all five T20Is. Yet, the only significant contribution was a 51 off 41 deliveries in the third ODI. In the other matches he produced scores of 9 (in the ODI) and 12, 7 and 13 in the three T20Is.

Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid to be part of deliberations

India head coach Rahul Dravid will join captain Rohit Sharma in the meeting with the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee to pick the Asia Cup squad. Dravid was summoned by the Agarkar-led selection committee to get his inputs on the team. It is not a regular pattern with Ravi Shastri reportedly not taking part in any meeting from 2017 to 2021.

‘KL Rahul is fit and available’

As per a News18 CricketNext report , KL Rahul is fit and available for selection. “KL Rahul’s availability for selection is confirmed, given his impressive fitness and form. As for Shreyas Iyer, the signs are indeed extremely positive,” said an insider.

Asia Cup squad LIVE

But the biggest question mark in the squad selection is over the fitness of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer . Both picked up long term injuries and missed plenty of cricket. Both went under the knife and have been recovering at the National Cricket Academy. Both presented social media clips of training sessions. But will the selectors push for their return and risk aggravating the injury? BCCI tried it with Bumrah and regretted it. Another point to consider, though, is that their return strengthens the batting and extends the batting order which has looked weak recently.

India’s Asia Cup squad LIVE

How many spinners will India take to the Asia Cup? Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav are definite inclusions. Other options are R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal. Ashwin played red ball cricket in the TNCA league but was kept out of the West Indies matches which suggests he’s not part of the plans. Chahal, meanwhile, is not priority. If Tilak Varma is picked, India get a part-time spinner. There’s also the possibility of bringing in Washington Sundar. In sub-continent conditions, four specialist spinners may not be the worst idea either.

Shardul Thakur vs Prasidh Krishna

Shardul Thakur, with 58 wickets, a half-century and a batting strike-rate of 106-plus from 38 ODIs, is expected to be picked ahead of fit-again Prasidh Krishna. The seamer was pegged back by a lower back stress fracture but returned to the scheme of things in the Ireland T20Is. He took two wickets in the first T20I and two more in the second

India’s Asia Cup squad Live

Case for Tilak Varma: He made a remarkable start to international cricket with fearless batting in the Caribbean. After scoring 173 runs in five T20Is against West Indies, many are calling for him to be brought into the ODI fold as well starting with the Asia Cup.

Sandeep Patil also thinks Tilak Varma should come in

“100 per cent [if India should hand Tilak Varma a debut] I will go with Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav. Who will be in the playing XI, can be decided after looking at the balance and the opposition. But Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav will both be in my team.”

Former India coach Ravi Shastri advocates for Tilak Varma’s inclusion

“I’m very impressed with Tilak Varma. Very, very impressed. And I want a left-hander. So, if I’m looking for a left-hander in the middle order, like Yuvraj Singh and before that was Suresh Raina at five, I would really look in that direction. Sandy and MSK have been selectors, and if I was a selector along with my panel, I would be looking at that current form, looking at how he’s getting his runs. So, when I look at the way he has got his runs over the last three months, whether it was for Mumbai Indians, for India, whether it was handling pressure, opposition, or different situations of the game, he has ticked all the boxes for someone so young. When it comes to shot selection, when it comes to the range of shots, the ability to be unorthodox, he has everything. So I’ll be looking at him very closely because he is hot at the moment, his mindset, his confidence, he understands situations, which is for me the most important thing.”

Asia Cup squad announcement LIVE

Welcome to our live coverage of India’s squad announcement for the Asia Cup 2023. The tournament gets underway next week but beyond the continental tournament, the focus will be on the ODI World Cup and the thought process for the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee, captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid.