The BCCI announced the Indian squad for the Asia Cup to be jointly hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka late on Monday evening. Announcing the team, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said that along with senior players, some young players have also been given a chance in the team.
The captaincy of the 17-member team has been handed over to Rohit Sharma. Apart from him, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Tilak Verma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (Vice Captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan (Wicket Keeper), Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammad Siraj will be part of the team.
Sanju Samson has also found a place in the squad as an additional wicket-keeping player. Indian team has been placed in Group-A. The team’s first match will be played on September 2 against arch-rivals Pakistan. The first match of the Asia Cup will be played between Pakistan and Nepal on August 30 in Multan. Two groups have been formed for the Asia Cup in the 50-over format.
Group A will feature Pakistan, India and Nepal while Group B will feature Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. India will play all its matches in Sri Lanka, while other matches will be played in different cities of Pakistan. After Pakistan, India will face Nepal on September 4.
This will be followed by qualifying matches in the Super-4, all of which will be played in Colombo, Sri Lanka. If India and Pakistan reach the final, this match will be played in Colombo, Sri Lanka.