The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced 17-men squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023, scheduled to be played in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30 to September 17.
Indian team's chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced the squad which saw the return of KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and Jasprit Bumrah.
Rahul, Iyer, and Bumrah were suffering from injuries. With their return, India's squad looks competitive ahead of Asia Cup and World Cup later this year.
Earlier, skipper Rohit Sharma shared his concern over the team's number four batting position. Iyer's arrival must be a relief for the Indian team.
Bumrah last played an ODI last year in July. Later on, he got injured and missed T20 Asia Cup and T20 World Cup later that year.
India will start their Asia Cup campaign against Pakistan on September 2 in Kandy. They last played an ODI early this month. Currently, the Indian team is playing a T20I series against Ireland at their home.
India squad
Rohit Sharma (c), 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 - Sanju Samson
Meanwhile, Pakistan is all set to start their three-match ODI series against Afghanistan in Hambantota. Two matches will be played in Hambantota whereas the last contest will take place in Colombo.
Several Pakistani players including captain Babar Azam have been in Sri Lanka for almost two months. They first played Test series against Sri Lanka followed by their participation in the Lanka Premier League (LPL).
Pakistan team will come back to the country after the Afghanistan series as they will start their Asia Cup campaign against Nepal in Multan on August 30.