KL Rahul, Iyer return for Asia Cup 2023

Yuzvendra Chahal left out from Asia Cup 2023.

Mumbai: India were boosted by the return of big names for the Asia Cup 2023. The tournament, beginning 30 August, will effectively be the preparing ground for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

India will feature in the six-nation tournament which will be co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This contest will be among their last international assignments before the Cricket World Cup in October-November.

The Rohit Sharma-led side is bolstered by the return of Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer to the ODI setup. The team will now have an opportunity to try out combinations which they’d likely field for the World Cup.

We look at some of the key takeaways from the squad which was announced on Monday, 21 August.

While Bumrah had already made a comeback in the T20I series against Ireland, the Asia Cup squad sees the return of Iyer and Rahul. The duo had missed out on cricketing action due to their respective injuries.

India went ahead with three spinners in their squad of 17, with Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav as the preferred choices. Yuzvendra Chahal, who last featured in an ODI in January this year and was also a part of the squad that toured West Indies, was left out of the side.

India Squad for the Asia Cup:
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.

Travelling reserve: Sanju Samson (wk)