BCCI Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar, along with skipper Rohit Sharma, will hold an official press conference Today 9Aug 21) to name the India Asia Cup squad. The meeting is scheduled to start at 12:00 PM IST.
It is expected that the 17-man squad will be announced at 1:30 PM IST in a press conference by Ajit Agarkar himself along with Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid.
The squad for the multi-nation tournament will be selected by an Ajit Agarkar-led panel. In a first, head coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma will also be present during the meeting to decide the final India Asia Cup squad.
Dravid and Sharma will provide their inputs for India Asia Cup squad but in the end, it will be final decison of selectors which will matter.
India’s Asia Cup 2023 Squad: Talking Points
The two big points in the meeting between the National Selection Panel and the press conference for the squad announcement will be regarding the fitness and availability of two middle-order batters (KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer) and Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness following his return to international cricket after a year-long hiatus.
While KL Rahul’s return seems optimistic as per reports, Iyer’s recovery hasn’t been as quick as expected. While India has options to replace wicketkeeper-batsman Rahul with Ishan Kishan or Sanju Samson, Iyer does not have replacements after cementing his spot at number 4 with stellar performances.
WATCH below Jasprit Bumrah’s return to International cricket in style.
The squad for the Asia Cup 2023 will also mirror the squad India selects for the upcoming World Cup 2023. With October 5 set as the final date to announce the preliminary squad for the ODI World Cup, one can expect India to name the same squad.
Probable India Asia Cup India Squad
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer*, KL Rahul*, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, and Mohammed Siraj.
*Subject to fitness
