The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday announced the senior men's squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 which is being jointly organized by Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The 17-member squad announced by BCCI will see Rohit Sharma captain the side with Hardik Pandya being the Vice-Captain.
Meanwhile, the squad will see the induction of Jasprit Bumrah, who led the Indian contingent in Ireland which has taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series after a long injury lay-off.
Bumrah's addition comes just in time ahead of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 to be hosted in India later this year.
Meanwhile, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav and Prasidh Krishna have been named in the squad who will take over the mantle of the bowling attack, as Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer will be tasked with the batting front.
Also, youngster Tilak Verma, who had an impressive debut series against the West Indies, has been given a nod, while KL Rahul makes a comeback into the squad. Sanju Samson has been included in the squad as a back-up option.
This will be India's final foray into competitive action ahead of the ODI World Cup and will present the perfect opportunity for selectors and BCCI to draft a solid team for the mega event.
It may be noted that the 16th edition of the Asia Cup will be held in the August and September months of 2023 and will see the participation of six teams.
India will begin their campaign against Pakistan in the group stage match of the tournament on September 2.
The squad in full: 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. Traveling stand-by player: Sanju Samson.
