Star Sports makes big blunder, leaves Shubman out of India Asia Cup squad

Here you go, an important squad selection without any drama, no. But this time, the goof-up was from the official broadcaster Star Sports. To make most of the squad announcement, Star Sports announced the squad before the official announcement. However, in a hurry, they made a big blunder, leaving Shubman Gill out of India squad for Asia Cup 2023.

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Chairman of BCCI Selection Committee Ajit Agarkar later confirmed Shubman Gill was in fact in the squad. India Squad for Asia Cup 2023 was officially announced on Monday in New Delhi.

However, with Ajit Agarkar confirming Shubman Gill in the squad, he is set to play a huge role. He has come into the squad in place of Shikhar Dhawan, who was the first-choice opener in ODIs.

While Shubman had a below-average outing in IND vs WI series, he has had a great 2022 and 2023 overall. With centuries across all three formats and IPL, Shubman has emerged as the top player for India.

He will open the innings with Rohit Sharma in Asia Cup 2023. He is also set for his maiden World Cup 2023 campaign as the designated opener.

However, there is the question of a change in role. If the team management wants to promote Ishan Kishan as the opener to tackle Shaheen Afridi, Shubman might have to drop to No 4.

India will face Pakistan on September 2 in their Asia Cup opener. And with the history suggesting problems against left-arm seamers, India will be open to playing a left-hander as an opener. As KL Rahul is set to miss the game with injury, Ishan Kishan will be the designated wicketkeeper-batter and there, he could demote Shubman Gill to No 4.

Fans slam Star Sports

Fans were not happy with the official Asia Cup broadcaster on the squad announcement.

#AsiaCup2023

What kind of drama is this?

The broadcaster has released the India squad but there's no word from BCCI yet.

Media in Delhi is still waiting and the squad appears on TV? How did the list get leaked then?

And to make things worse, there's confusion over the names.

— KSR (@KShriniwasRao) August 21, 2023

1.26pm – Shubman Gill is not there in Asia Cup 2023 squad.

1.34pm – Shubman Gill is there in Asia Cup 2023 squad. pic.twitter.com/y8bKYGaUUe

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 21, 2023

Shubman Gill be like pic.twitter.com/l5JonGFrT0

— Sagar (@sagarcasm) August 21, 2023

India Squad for Asia Cup 2023:

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

Travelling Reserve: Sanju Samson

Asia Cup 2023 Schedule – Revised

Date	Venue	Match	Stage	Match Timing/Result
6 Sep	Lahore	Pakistan vs Bangladesh	Super 4	3:00 PM IST (Pak win by 7 wickets)
9 Sep	Colombo	Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh	Super 4	3:00 PM IST
10 Sep	Colombo	India vs Pakistan	Super 4	3:00 PM IST
11 Sep	Colombo	Reserve Day		(Ind won by 228 runs)
12 Sep	Colombo	India vs Sri Lanka	Super 4	(India won by 41 runs)
14 Sep	Colombo	Pakistan vs Sri Lanka	Super 4	(Sri Lanka won by 2 wickets)
15 Sep	Colombo	India vs Bangladesh	Super 4	3:00 PM IST
17 Sep	Colombo	Final		3:00 PM IST
18 Sep	Colombo	Reserve Day