No Asia Cup 2023, no World Cup 2023, no Asian Games 2023 and now, as it appears no place in India squad for the Australia series either for Sanju Samson. As the Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI selection committee set to name the squad for IND vs AUS series (India vs Australia), Sanju Samson does not feature. The reason? He is not in World Cup 2023 plans and will only feature as a backup. The squad will remain the same as India squad for World Cup 2023 and Tilak Varma won’t be there either.
The three-match India vs Australia series begins on September 22. It will be the final preparation for India Cricket Team. And hence, the selection committee does not want any distractions.
“See, KL is fully fit and there won’t be three wicket-keepers. That is the unfortunate reason why Sanju has to miss out. He has been captaining a side and understands the tough calls the selection committee needs to take. He will feature in the T20 series against Australia,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport on Wednesday.
While it was all but confirmed that Sanju Samson won’t be seen in India jersey for some time, it is about switching focus to India squad for World Cup 2023. The entire squad will play against Australia. It will be more about fine-tuning the different combinations, carrying forward from Asia Cup 2023. However, the question remains on Shreyas Iyer.
Is Shreyas Iyer fit for World Cup?
In time, he will be fit for World Cup 2023. But at the moment, he is not fit for IND vs AUS series. While the BCCI medical team is hoping that Shreyas Iyer will be fit for Asia Cup 2023 final, there is no clarity yet on whether it is actually a back spasm or a recurrence of his back injury.
To remind all, Shreyas has had a setback in recovery. He has endured excruciating pain. But he had aced that to feature in Asia Cup opener against Pakistan. But his return lasted just nine balls.
“He is under the medical team’s observation in Colombo. We are hopeful that he will be fit for the Austalia series. At the moment, he is unfit. But there is Surya as a cover. So, nothing to worry about from a team’s perspective,” the official said.
No Tilak Varma in India squad for Australia series
Another player to miss the IND vs AUS series will be Tilak Varma. The left-hander is with India Cricket Team in Colombo. But he will return home on Monday and will join the Asian Games 2023 camp at the NCA.
There were talks about whether Tilak Varma would be retained for World Cup 2023 as a backup. But a call on that will only be made closer to the final WC squad announcement on September 27. If Shreyas Iyer is fully fit and does feature in the India vs Australia series, Tilak Varma will board the flight to Huangzhou for the Asian Games 2023. Else, he will be among the reserves.
Probable squad for IND vs AUS series:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav
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