Ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup 2023, the fitness of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer remains a big concern for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). That is the reason why the apex Indian board could name an extended 17-member squad for the upcoming continental tournament which will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Cricketnext had reported that the BCCI are likely to announce India’s squad for the Asia Cup 2023 in New Delhi on Monday, August 21.
Days ahead of the announcement, Rahul and Iyer are still recovering from their respective injuries at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, therefore, the BCCI are likely to name a 17-member squad for the Asia Cup to try and test all possible combinations ahead of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 at home.
According to a PTI report, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee are also likely to follow in the footsteps of Pakistan and Bangladesh, both of whom had also named 17-member squads for the Asia Cup.
The report further adds Rahul Dravid is also likely to be a part of the selection meeting, unlike previous coaches Ravi Shastri and Anil Kumble. For the unversed, Cricket Australia have a provision that the chief coach is also a part of the National Selection Panel, but that is not the case in India, neither the captain nor the coach have a right to vote in selection matters.
The selection meeting will take place in the national capital on Monday morning, and Rohit Sharma will also be a part of the same. It remains unclear whether the duo will be present in the meeting physically or via video conferencing.
BCCI is hoping to give Iyer and Rahul ample chances to prove their fitness ahead of the ODI World Cup 2023 and thus both of them could be included in the Asia Cup squad, and the duo could feature in the six games to be played in the continental tournament if India reach the final.
“There is a possibility of picking the provisional 15-member squad for the World Cup which needs to be submitted by September 5 but one could make changes as the deadline for final squad is September 27,” a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
The source added that for the Asia Cup squad, a 17-member travelling party could be named.
India’s likely 17-member squad (including provisional 15 for Sept 5 deadline): Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk, subject to fitness), Shreyas Iyer (subject to fitness), Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishan Kishan (2nd wk), Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Yuzvendra Chahal/R Ashwin.
With PTI inputs
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