Asia Cup 2023 India squad: KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer make a return, Tilak Varma gets maiden ODI call up
KL Rahul was away from the Indian team since March 2023 following a thigh injury. Photo: Getty
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday (August 21) announced a 17-member India squad for the upcoming Asia Cup tournament in the presence of skipper Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
Batters Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are making a return to India's ODI squad. Both were recovering from long-term injuries and were out of action for some time now.
Tilak Varma, who made some sensational performances against West Indies and Ireland T20Is, has also received his maiden ODI call-up.
Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has been named as a stand-by player, in addition to the 17-member squad.
Allrounder Hardik Pandya, after his short captaincy stint with the team, has been named the vice-captain of India for the tournament.
The squad:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan (WK), Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna. Travelling stand-by player: Sanju Samson.
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
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 21, 2023
Traveling stand-by…
The 2023 edition of the Asia Cup will be played in Sri Lanka and Pakistan from August 30 to September 17, 2023. The six teams, participating are India, Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The ODI World Cup will be hosted by India from October 5. The Asia Cup will provide a valuable opportunity for Asia's cricketing nations to prepare and fine-tune their skills.