(Cricket news) BCCI have announced a 15 member squad for the Asia Cup which begins on 27th August. India is pitted in the same group as Pakistan and one other country amongst Kuwait, Hong Kong, Singapore and UAE. The tournament is an important one in itself but at the same time it will be a very good preparation for the T20 World Cup. The squad has one or two surprising calls but it's pretty much what was expected. India have a strong squad as usual but there are a few question marks going into the tournament. It is safe to say that Pakistan just edge India as the favourites to win the tournament.

India’s squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan

Stand-bys: Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar

Harshal Patel and Jasprit Bumrah were ruled out of the tournament due to injury. Harshal Patel's injury was known after he didn't play a single match against West Indies but Bumrah's injury is a surprise. The absence of both the players is a big loss for India but Bumrah's absence could be game changing. India have done well in bilateral series without Bumrah in the past but in a multi nations tournament it is going to be very difficult. India have only gone with 3 pacers in the squad with Deepak Chahar as a stand-by. Chahar has just recovered from a long term injury therefore him being a stand-by makes total sense. The selection shows that India could be planning to play two seamers, two spinners along with Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja. 

The biggest surprise inclusion is that of Ravichandran Ashwin who looked to be out of the T20 set-up but made a comeback against West Indies. It is a very harsh call on Axar Patel who has performed really well with both bat and ball whenever called upon. He was also a part of the T20 World Cup squad last year but was replaced by Shardul Thakur due to a tactical decision. Washington Sundar has also recovered from his injury and has been in good form playing domestic cricket in England but there is no place for him in the squad. Kuldeep Yadav who also recovered from injury and had a good game against West Indies on Sunday is also not in the squad. 

The return of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli was always going to happen. Mohammed Shami hasn't played a T20I match since the World Cup last year and it was recently reported that Shami will not be considered for T20Is. The source said that the BCCI wants Shami to be fresh for Tests and ODIs as he is not getting any younger. Bumrah's injury could've been a good reason for the selectors to call back Shami into the squad as India lacks pace in their bowling attack. Shami had a very good IPL tournament with winners Gujarat Titans as well. After being part of every single T20I squad for the past year Ishan Kishan has been dropped. India have clearly decided that Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are the first choice openers and in their absence the likes of Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli can fill their position. Sanju Samson is also not a part of the team which was expected to happen.

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