Ajit Agarkar, the chief selector and the Indian team captain Rohit Sharma recently announced a 17 man squad for Asia Cup 2023. In the same press conference it was revealed that KL Rahul has picked up a niggle and may not be available for the first few matches in the tournament.
This has left the number fifth batting position and the slot for wicketkeeper batter wide open. Unfortunately, Sanju Samson is in the reserve and won’t be able to play instead of KL Rahul. India will need to pick Ishan Kishan in the playing 11. Kishan is a top order batter and this will cause a few changes in the batting line-up of India.
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are expected to open together while Ishan Kishan is expected to bat at three instead of Virat Kohli. The Indian stalwart, Kohli is expected to bat at four, followed by Shreyas Iyer at five, Hardik Pandya at six and Ravindra Jadeja at seven.
Also read: Asia Cup 2023 Live Streaming Details for India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and More
Is this the right move for India? Is this even a move that Team India is really considering? All these questions will answer themselves on 2nd September 2023 when India goes against the arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023.
Squad: 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.
Traveling stand-by player: Sanju Samson