Asia Cup 2023: KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer Likely To Miss Tournament: Reports

Experienced Indian batters KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are unlikely to be fit in time for Asia Cup 2023 as per reports in Cricbuzz. The tournament starts from August 30 and sources close to the board have revealed that the two players have yet not recovered sufficiently to play in the tournament.

Iyer last played for India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was a part of the fourth Test in Ahmedabad and has been out of the team since then. He missed the IPL 2023, the WTC final, the West Indies series and is now likely to miss the Asia Cup as well.

KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer Unlikely To Play In Asia Cup 2023

KL Rahul has been out of since injuring his hamstring in IPL 2023. Both the players underwent surgeries and are under rehabilitation at the moment. The BCCI is not keen on rushing them back into action especially with the ODI World Cup at home and India still undecided on their middle-order.

Asia Cup 2023: KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer Likely To Miss Tournament

The absence of Rahul and Iyer will mean that the players who played in the West Indies series will be in consideration for selection in the Asia Cup squad as well. The fast bowling group will see a little bit of change with Jasprit Bumrah returning into the scheme of things for India. Mohammed Shami after a well-deserved rest will be back in the side along with Mohammed Siraj.

The likes of Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav are expected to get a longer run with Iyer and Rahul still unfit. While Kishan scored three back to back fifties in the ODI series, Samson scored a quickfire fifty to add to the selection headache of the selectors. Suryakumar Yadav continues to struggle in the ODI format however, he seems to have the backing of his coach and captain.

Asia Cup 2023 will be played from 31st August 2023 to 17 September 2023. The tournament will be played in the 50-over format this year with the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 scheduled to be played in October-November in India.

A total of 13 matches will be played in Asia Cup 2023. 4 matches of the Asia Cup will be played in Pakistan and the remaining 9 matches will be played in Sri Lanka. The tournament will be played in a hybrid model with Pakistan being nominated as the official host.