Asia Cup 2018: BCCI Likely to Announce the Squad on September 1

The selectors are likely to sit on September 1 to pick the India squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2018, hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The selectors will meet in Mumbai to pick the squad for the inter-continent tournament.

Meanwhile, the 13th edition of the tournament will commence from September 15 and run till September 28. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will battle it out in the tournament opener at the Dubai International Stadium.

However, India will start their campaign on September 18 against the champion team from the Asia Cup qualifier. Furthermore, they will take on the arch-rivals Pakistan on September 19 at Dubai. This is the first time India will face Pakistan since their Champions Trophy loss in England last year. Virat Kohli & Co will be desperate to complete their revenge against their neighbours.

So far, there have been 13 Asia Cup tournaments starting from 1984. India won the first Asia Cup title beating Sri Lanka and since then went on to win another five. On the other hand, Sri Lanka had won five while Pakistan had managed to win only twice.

India, meanwhile, will finish their England tour of September 11. Thus, they will have only four days in hand before the start of the Asia Cup 2018 and will reach UAE one day prior to their game.

The limited-over players will slot into the team with only a handful joining from the Tests squad.

The selectors can also opt for a rotation policy with the all-important Australia series looming ahead. Thus, many players from the India A and India B squad can force their way into the squad. They were quite a few notable performers with Manish Pandey and Mayank Agarwal the most significant of all. Kedar Jadhav, who has regained full fitness can also be a possible contender for a slot in the squad.

India will be desperate to retain their Asia Cup 2018 title when they take the field on September 18.