The 15th edition of Asia Cup is set to begin from 27th August in the United Arab Emirates and Virat Kohli and KL Rahul have been included in the 15-man Indian squad. This is seen as a major milestone in the team formation for the T20 World Cup. Kohli, the former captain of India, remained excluded from the series that India played against the West Indies whereas KL Rahul has been rested from a long time. He had contracted a hamstring injury and underwent a hernia operation, post which he was diagnosed with Covid 19. Kohli had asked for rest due to his poor form.
India have announced their 15 member squad for the Asia Cup 2022 and Rohit Sharma is going to lead the men in blue according to cricket updates. Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel remain out of the tournament due to injury.
Kohli, who was in a prolonged lean patch, had been rested for the ODIs against Zimbabwe and will return to the team straight against Pakistan on 28th August. Kohli picked up a niggle in his last series against England. KL Rahul was recovering from an injury and illness associated with Covid 19. He has been chosen as the vice captain for India according to the latest cricket news today.
Rahul had been rested since May when the Indian Premier League ended. He had contracted groin injury and had undergone a sports hernia operation. Just as he was recovering, he was diagnosed with Covid 19 and was advised to take rest.
Indian Players Selected for Asia Cup 2022
The Indian squad playing the Asia Cup 2022 includes Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Kartik, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar kumar, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh.
Bumrah, who would have led India’s fast bowling, has also been rested after the tour of England and did not accompany the men in blue to the West Indies. Nor is he going to be a part of the 3 match ODI against Zimbabwe. Bumrah has a back injury from which he has not yet recovered according to the latest cricket news today. With Bumrah and Harshal Patel rested out, India is playing the tournament in the United Arab Emirates with only three frontline fast-blowers who are Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya serves as the fast-bowling all-rounder. Bumrah and Patel are presently undergoing treatment at the NCA in Bengaluru, stated the BCCI in a statement.
The selection committee have kept Deepak Hooda to play in the middle-order and Ravi Bishnoi has been chosen as the second wrist-spinning option in the Indian team. Yuzvendra Chahal also returns to the team after being rested for the T20I series against the West Indies.
As per the cricket news, the three standbys or backup players for the tournament include Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar and Shreyas Iyer. Kuldeep Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson who had played in the T20I series in West Indies have been rested. Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, and Ravi Bishnoi are holding their places in the team. Arshdeep Singh, the young left-arm pacer had showcased commendable performance during the T20I series against West Indies and has been selected as the “Player of the Series”.
Asia Cup 2022
Asia Cup 2022 is all set to commence on the 27th August and is going to be played in the T20I format. India is the defending continental champion and emerged victorious in the last Asia Cup in 2018 that was played in an ODI format. India is the most successful team, having won the Cup 7 times before. India’s first match is against Pakistan a day later, that is, on 28th August in Dubai according to cricket updates.
India, Pakistan and a team that wins the qualifying tournament forms Group A and Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh form Group B. Ten games are supposed to take place in Dubai and three games will take place in Sharjah. The Asia Cup is going to be a preparation ground for India for the T20 World Cup which will be held in Australia in October.
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