The national selectors, however, refrained from making wholesale changes in the squad that performed miserably in the ongoing triangular series and preceding Test series in Australia by retaining many of the players, like Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, who struggled throughout the tour.
Sachin Tendulkar has also been retained in the squad which will have young Virat Kohli as Mahendra Singh Dhoni`s deputy.
29-year-old Baroda all-rounder Yusuf Pathan and Bengal paceman Ashok Dinda, 27, were recalled in the team announced by BCCI Secretary Sanjay Jagdale after a meeting of the selection committee.
Pacer Umesh Yadav has also been left out of the team because of injury concerns. "Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav have been rested on fitness grounds," Jagdale said in a release.
Yusuf, who scored a century against Saurashtra with the help of 10 sixes and six fours in a Vizay Hazare match, and Dinda, who had an impressive performance in the domestic circuit, were rewarded with a place in the squad. However, the selectors opted to retain Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja despite being failures in the tour of Australia.
Apart from India, arch rivals Pakistan, Sri Lanka and hosts Bangladesh will take part in the Asia Cup to be held in Mirpur from March 11 to March 22.
The Team:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virat Kohli (v-capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Rahul Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwary, Irfan Pathan, Ashok Dinda.