No place for Shikhar Dhawan; Tilak Varma included in 17-man squad.
India named their 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup starting 30 August, with batters KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer making successful returns from injury, the BCCI announced on Monday.
Both the batters were rehabilitating from their respective injuries at the National Cricket Academy.
BCCI's Chairman of Selectors, Ajit Agarkar also revealed that while Shreyas Iyer is completely fit, Rahul still has a niggle.
"It is not the original injury. There is a niggle. That is why Sanju is travelling (to Sri Lanka). We are expecting Rahul to be fit. If not the start of Asia Cup may be by the second or the third game. Shreyas Iyer is fully fit," Agarkar said after announcing the squad in New Delhi.
Talking of Shikhar Dhawan's exclusion, Agarkar said: "At the moment, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan have been prolific for India and are our preferred openers...Shikhar Dhawan has been a terrific player for India. We know his record, we know what he's done. Since December he hasn't played. We can only fit 15. Unfortunately, sometimes somebody has to miss out."
The squad also marks the return of Jasprit Bumrah to ODI cricket after a gap of more than a year. After proving his fitness in the ongoing T20I series against Ireland, Bumrah is set to test himself in the 50-over format heading into the World Cup.
Young Tilak Varma received his ODI call-up and has been included in the squad to bolster the batting. Sanju Samson keeps his place as a reserve player.
Despite his underwhelming performances in ODIs, Suryakumar Yadav has also found a place in the Asia Cup squad.
Squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.
Reserve travelling player: Sanju Samson
