Asia Cup 2023: KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer return; Tilak Varma picked in India squad

After a long injury lay-off, senior batters KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer have returned to the Indian ODI squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. They have been included in the squad after recovering from a thigh and back injury respectively.

The 17-man Asia Cup squad announced by Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar in Delhi on Monday also includes rookie southpaw Tilak Varma, who has not made his ODI debut yet.  Speedsters Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna, who made their international comebacks during the ongoing T20I series in Ireland after recovering from back surgeries, have also been inducted into the squad.

Veteran speedster Mohammed Shami makes a comeback after being rested for the entire tour of West Indies, while Mohammed Siraj and all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur complete the pace attack.

Chinaman wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been preferred over experienced leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Finger-spinning all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel have also been included in the squad.

Ishan Kishan was chosen over Sanju Samson as the second wicketkeeper and reserve opener in the squad. However, Samson will travel to Sri Lanka as a reserve player.

While Rohit Sharma will be the captain of the team, Hardik Pandya will be his deputy.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna.