As the anticipation for the announcement of the Asia Cup 2023 squad by the BCCI continues, former cricketers like Ravi Shastri, MSK Prasad, and Sandip Patil have shared their player preferences. The discussion mainly revolved around Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer making a comeback. While Bumrah is part of India’s squad for the Ireland T20I series, Iyer and Rahul are still honing their skills in closed-door practice sessions.
Among the three players – Bumrah, Iyer, and Rahul – who have been sidelined for a considerable period, there’s a higher level of optimism regarding Bumrah’s availability for the Asia Cup. For Rahul and Iyer, their lack of recent match experience has raised concerns according to many experts.
During a conversation on Star Sports, Shastri, Prasad, and Patil collaborated to finalize a 15-member squad, opting not to include Rahul and Iyer.
For the opening slots, the panel of experts chose Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, and Rohit Sharma. Virat Kohli was also selected, with the experts deliberating on the potential for him to bat at No. 4 instead of his customary No. 3 position.
Fresh from his impressive performances against West Indies in the T20I series, Tilak Varma’s unexpected inclusion caught attention. Despite Suryakumar Yadav’s recent struggles in the 50-over format, he was still selected. Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur secured their spots as the two pace-bowling all-rounders.
Among the spin-bowling all-rounders, the former Indian players chose Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. As for the specialist spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were preferred, while Ravi Bishnoi missed out.
The pace trio comprised of Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and the now-fit-again Jasprit Bumrah. Prasidh Krishna, returning after a lengthy injury break, was not included.
The experts’ chosen 15-member squad for the Asia Cup 2023 includes: Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah.