Last Update on: August 21st, 2023 at 02:58 pm
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar, on Monday (August 21), said that the India squad for ICC ODI World Cup 2023 would not be too much different than the Asia Cup squad. The Ajit Agarkar-led panel announced Team India’s squad for the Asia Cup on Monday.
The panel has announced a 17-member squad for the continental championship. Both KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer were named in the squad. Iyer and Rahul have not played a competitive game since March and May respectively. While Iyer sustained a back injury during the Ahmedabad Test against Australia, Rahul ended up injuring his thigh while fielding during a match in IPL 2023.
Fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna have been recalled into the ODI team too. Both the bowlers recently made their much-awaited return to international cricket in the ongoing T20I series against Ireland. Bumrah was sidelined since September last year while Krishna had not played since August.
Another highlight of the squad for Asia Cup 2023 is the inclusion of uncapped Tilak Varma. The highly-rated batsman recently made his T20I debut against West Indies and impressed one and all with his talent and temperament. He finished the five-match series as India’s highest run-scorer.
Ajit Agarkar on India’s World Cup squad:
Suryakumar Yadav has also managed to retain his spot in the team despite failing to do well in ODIs so far. The selectors have also sprung a big surprise by dropping Yuzvendra Chahal from the squad. With Chahal out, Kuldeep Yadav is the only wrist spinner in the side.
After revealing the India squad for Asia Cup 2023, Ajit Agarkar was asked about the World Cup squad. In reply, the former India bowler said that the World Cup squad will not vary significantly from the Asia Cup squad. He also stated that the World Cup squad will be announced after a short camp and a few games.
“I mean, it’s really a no-brainer. We picked these 18 guys, so it’ll be in and around those guys. Few important guys are coming back from injury. Hopefully, all goes well with them. They’ve got a few games now in the Asia Cup, so yeah, it’ll be close between these guys.
But fortunately we have some more time. Fifth is the deadline, and we’ll get to look at the players as a short camp, followed by a couple of games before we announce the actual squad. But, uh, yeah, it will obviously be around these guys on it,” said Ajit Agarkar.
India squad for Asia Cup 2023:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna. Stand-by: Sanju Samson