Asia Cup 2023: Team India’s Asia Cup 2023 Squad is yet to be revealed and as per the reports, the BCCI’s selection committee is set to meet today (August 21) in Delhi to finalise the player lift for the upcoming tournaments. It would be safe to claim that Asia Cup 2023 India’s Squad will be disclosed in the next few hours.
With Asia Cup 2023 kickstarting on August 30, the clock is ticking for the Ajit Agarker-led selection committee to announce the squad.
The biggest complication in front of the selectors would be the fitness of two of India’s promising middle-order batters – KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. The recent past has been tough for both the aforementioned players, with each of them suffering their share of injuries. While KL Rahul was out due to a thigh injury, Shreyas Iyer suffered a back injury.
Reportedly, since, both KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are yet to prove their fitness standards at the National Cricket Academy, the selectors are likely to move forward with practical options. A couple of backup players will be named in India’s Asia Cup 2023 squad, who will be tested if both Rahul and Iyer fail to recover on time.
As a sigh of relief for the selectors, ESPNcricinfo earlier reported that Shreyas Iyer took part in the practice game at the NCA without any discomfort under the watchful eyes of chief VVS Laxman and other coaches. Iyer fielded for 50 overs and then scored 38 runs in the second innings.
Meanwhile, there is no indication of KL Rahul’s fitness as of now. The batter is likely to take part in the second practice game along with Shreyas Iyer at the NCA.
Interestingly, as per the rules laid down by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), each participating team can announce a 17-member squad, which will give the BCCI enough room to draft in a couple of backup middle-order options for the team in case Rahul and Iyer are not 100 per cent match fit.
Moreover, this will also be a blessing in disguise for Team India, which will be able to test the backup players in the competitive Asia Cup 2023. India will play as many as 5 games in the tournament, and six if India qualifies for the Asia Cup 2023 Final.
Pakistan and Bangladesh have already announced their 17-men-strong squad for the Asia Cup 2023 and the BCCI is also expected to announce its squad by the end of the day.
Notably, India’s Asia Cup 2023 squad will also give a clear idea of what the team’s composition would look like in the ICC World Cup 2023. The deadline to submit the World Cup squad is September 5. Any changes after that to the initial squad will require special approval from the apex cricket body.
Down Below is Asia Cup 2023 India’s Squad Prediction.
Asia Cup 2023: India’s Squad – Prediction
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson.
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For more details head to ICC’s official website.