Picture Credit: Twitter/@BCCI
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named a 15-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 which is all set to commence on 27th August in United Arab of Emirates. Rohit Sharma will be leading Men in Blue in the 15th edition of the tournament, while KL Rahul has been named his deputy. India's campaign in the mega event will kick start with a heavyweight clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28th.
Ace batters Virat Kohli and KL Rahul have been included in the India's Asia Cup squad and will be in action after some time. Amongst the most notable exclusion from the squad, veteran pacer Md. Shami has failed to make it to the team which has raised a lot of eyebrows.
Notably, Shami last played a T20I for India in the last year's World Cup and ever since he has not played in the shortest format for India. Former India selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth has recently said that Shami was literally part of the squad if he had to select the Asia Cup team.
"In my team Shami was literally there. If I was the Chairman of the selection committee, I think Shami would have been there and probably, I would not have gone with Ravi Bishnoi. But I still believe that Axar Patel was a serious contender in my team. It would have been a big toss-up between Axar Patel and Ashwin," he said on Star Sports' show 'Follow The Blues.'
Srikkanth further added that he is extremely happy with the inclusion of Deepak Hooda and believes that the all-rounder is good hitter of the ball and can bowl few overs as well. "I am very happy for Deepal Hooda. He is a good striker of the ball, he is a flirter. Otherwise, this squad is a fantastic squad, only feel bad for Axar Patel," said Srikkanth.
In Bumrah's absence, pace attack will be led by the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar with youngsters Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh also in the side. Death overs specialist Harshal Patel has also been ruled out with an injury. In a separate note about Bumrah and Harshal, BCCI informed that both were not available for the selection owing to injuries and are currently undergoing rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru. Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar have been named as standbys.
