Two-week break for India’s superstars is over. India Cricket Team including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will head to the National Cricket Academy on Wednesday (August 23). India’s Asia Cup camp begins on Thursday with Rahul Dravid and his support staff leading the charge in Bengaluru. The likes of Sanju Samson, Prasidh Krishna and Jasprit Bumrah will join in the last three days after returning from Ireland. The Asia Cup 2023 camp runs till Aug 29.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are on a break since the end of the IND vs WI ODIs. Other stars including Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav returned home after playing the T20 series while the rest headed to Dublin for the IND vs IRE series. As the camp is exclusive to Asia Cup 2023 squad, only those in the squad will take part.
“The camp is for the Asia Cup squad. Rohit and Virat will be joining from Day 1. They are arriving tomorrow in Bengaluru. Most of the guys will be joining in from Day 1. The rest will join after they arrive from Dublin,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport.
Shreyas & KL Rahul in India Asia Cup Camp
Meanwhile, fully fit Shreyas Iyer and an unfit KL Rahul will also join the camp. Shreyas Iyer was racing against time to be fit. However, he returned to the fold with practice matches at the NCA. But things are not looking great for KL Rahul at this moment.
While selectors named him in the Asia Cup 2023 squad, he has a niggle while keeping wickets during practice sessions. KL Rahul is an important player for India Cricket Team as he will fulfil the keeper-batter role. But as it stands, he will miss at least the first two games of the Asia Cup including the India vs Pakistan match.
However, he will join the camp with light work and some batting sessions.
Asia Cup 2023 Camp: Focus on match simulations
Meanwhile, the focus of the Asia Cup camp will be on match simulations. As the group has not played together since July 2022. Now, the entire group will undergo different match simulations to tackle slow pitches in Kandy and Colombo.
The focus will also be on specific roles for players within the group. For example, Ishan Kishan is set to start against Pakistan. However, he still does not have a defined role. He will likely be a No 3 with Virat Kohli dropping down to No 4. But under Rahul Dravid and Vikram Rathour’s guidance, things will be clearer during the 6-day Asia Cup 2023 camp.
As for Suryakumar Yadav, his role is clear at No 6. Whether there is any change in plans regarding that will also be clear.
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.
