Asia Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill And Ishan Kishan Are Our 3 Preferred Openers - Ajit Agarkar On Shikhar Dhawan's Exclusion

Men’s selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar revealed the reason behind veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan’s exclusion from India’s squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. Ajit Agarkar highlighted that Shikhar Dhawan doesn’t fit as an opener in the Indian National Cricket Team at the moment.

On Monday, August 21, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) unveiled the 17-member squad for the continental tournament. Rohit Sharma has been named as the captain of the team. Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan have been included as the other two openers in the squad.

Shikhar Dhawan Has Been A Terrific Player – Ajit Agarkar

Speaking at the press conference, Ajit Agarkar acknowledged Shikhar Dhawan‘s brilliant record for India, especially in ICC ODI tournaments. However, Agarkar mentioned that Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Ishan Ishan will be India’s first-choice openers.

“Shikhar Dhawan has been a terrific player for India. At the moment, there are three guys (Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Ishan Kishan) who are really doing well. You can only fit 15 in a team. Unfortunately, sometimes somebody has to miss out. These are our preferred openers,” Agarkar said.

Shikhar last played for India in an ODI match against Bangladesh in December last year. The left-handed batter was part of India’s World Cup campaign in 2015 and 19. He scored 537 runs with an average of 53.70 and a strike rate of 94.21, including three centuries and a half-century.

India To Kick Off Their Asia Cup Campaign On September 2

The Asia Cup 2023 will be played in a hybrid model between August 30 and September 17. Pakistan will host the four matches, while Sri Lanka will host the remaining matches, including the final. The tournament will kick off with a match between Pakistan and Nepal in Multan.

The Rohit Sharma-led team will lock horns with the Babar Azam-led team in their opening match at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, September 2. The Men in Blue will take on the Nepal team in their second match at the same venue on Monday, September 4.

India Squad For Asia Cup 2023

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

Travelling stand-by player: Sanju Samson

Also read: ICC World Cup 2023: Shikhar Dhawan Names First Five Players In World Cup Dream XI, Includes Two Indians