India squad for Asia Cup 2023: Selectors gamble on uncapped Tilak; Chahal misses out on in pace-heavy attack

Team India took their first major step towards what is set to be three action-packed months comprising two milestone events, announcing their squad for the Asia Cup that begins on 30 August. Skipper Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, who only recently succeeded Chetan Sharma in the role, announced the squad following a meeting in New Delhi which head coach Rahul Dravid and the remaining members of the selection committee also attended. The 17-member contingent that was announced by BCCI on Monday afternoon was largely along expected lines, with a couple of key players returning from injury and Rohit and the selectors taking a gamble on an uncapped player.

Here's the Rohit Sharma-led team for the upcoming #AsiaCup2023 🙌#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/TdSyyChB0b

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 21, 2023

What is also important to note is the fact that India’s World Cup squad is likely to stay the same as the Asia Cup squad, with a couple of players getting shaved off the latter to form the 15-member squad for ICC’s showpiece event that takes place in the months of October and November. Here are some of the takeaways from India’s squad for the Asia Cup: Men in Blue take a gamble on Tilak While India’s top-three remains set in stone with Shubman Gill opening alongside skipper Rohit and Virat Kohli continuing at his number three slot, it is the middle order where the Men in Blue will be making some key decisions in the upcoming event. And in this context, the team think-tank and the selectors took a big gamble by including uncapped Tilak Varma in the squad on the basis of his performances in the recent T20I series against West Indies where he made his debut, as well as for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Several former cricketers, including ex-head coach Ravi Shastri, had called for Varma’s inclusion in the squads for the two major events, not just for his excellent run with the bat but also for the fact that he brings variety into the Indian batting unit as a left-hander. “Tilak Varma is part of the Asian Games squad. We saw potential in West Indies. We want to give him exposure, he is left-handed so that helps. When the World Cup comes in, we can decide on how things go,” chief selector Agarkar told reporters at a press conference in New Delhi on Monday where he and skipper Rohit discussed Asia Cup selection. Rahul, Iyer the latest players to return from long injury layoffs While pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna returned to action with a bang following year-long absences in the ongoing tour of Ireland, the Asia Cup will witness two more senior players make a comeback from injury layoffs — Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. Iyer hasn’t played competitive cricket since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in March. Rahul, on the other hand, injured his thigh while fielding during an Indian Premier League match in early May. Both players underwent surgery in London followed by extensive rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, and recently underwent match-simulation exercises that led to a thumbs up from authorities at the NCA as far as their fitness is concerned. Also Read | Cricket Twitter welcomes Rahul and Iyer back into Indian team While several players had been drafted into the Indian middle order in their absence, notably Tilak Varma and T20I vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav along with wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, fact of the matter is both Iyer and Rahul were ahead in the pecking order and were going to be handed back their places in the squad upon recovery from their physical ailments. Iyer especially has been viewed as India’s solution to the No 4 dilemma that had plagued them in the 2019 World Cup as well and is once again a talking point this time around, while Rahul has been the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter since Rishabh Pant’s accident that has ruled him out of action for an indefinite period. Agarkar, though, clarified that while Iyer is fully fit and will be slotted into the XI for India’s blockbuster clash against Pakistan, Rahul might sit out for a match or two before making his return. “Shreyas Iyer is declared fully fit but KL Rahul has a niggle. We’re expecting both to be fully fit. KL Rahul could be fit by the second or third game. On both, we have time for the World Cup squad. “KL Rahul plays as a wicketkeeper-batter. Aim and hope is to have him fit from the first game. It is a setback for him. He is an important player, needless to say,” Agarkar said during the press conference at the national capital. Also Read | 'One batting slot does not make much of a difference': Ganguly on No 4 Additionally, Iyer and Rahul’s inclusion means there will be a direct shootout between Varma and Ishan Kishan in the middle-order. All-rounder and T20I skipper Hardik Pandya completes the middle order. Chahal misses out in pace-heavy bowling unit Meanwhile wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was left disappointed yet again after getting overlooked for another major multi-nation tournament. Chahal, who was part of India’s 2018 Asia Cup and 2019 World Cup campaigns and would also make an appearance in last year’s T20 edition of the Asia Cup. The wily leg-spinner however, is yet to make his presence felt in a T20 World Cup, and his chances of making the ODI World Cup squad for October and November also appear slim. What made Chahal’s selection all the more difficult was the fact that the Men in Blue went with only three frontline spin options — Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.

⛅️——> 🌞

— Yuzvendra Chahal (@yuzi_chahal) August 21, 2023

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Kuldeep has been a standout performer among Indian bowlers this year and made West Indian batters dance to his tunes in the recent tour of the Caribbean and the United States. Jadeja’s all-round skills along with his fielding make him indispensable and Axar is seen as his back-up. The Men in Blue ended up picking as many as four frontline pace options in their squad in Bumrah, Krishna, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj with all-rounders Pandya and Shardul Thakur also adding to the seam-bowling arsenal. “We thought about an off-spinner as well, (R) Ashwin and Washy (Washington Sundar), but right now you see Chahal had to miss out because we could only pick 17 players. The only way we could have picked him was if one of the seamers was missing. We can’t do that because seamers are going to play a big role in the next two months. A few of them are coming back after a long time, so we wanted to have a good look at them, get them in and see what they have to offer,” Rohit told reporters at the presser. ‘Hitman’ however, did not shut the door completely for Chahal, adding that an opportunity could still arise for the 33-year-old to get a last-minute call-up. “Having said that, no doors are closed on anyone. Anyone can come in anytime. If we feel like we need Chahal for the World Cup, we’ll see how we can squeeze him in, same goes for Washy or Ashwin,” added Rohit. India squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna Traveling stand-by player: Sanju Samson