Chief selector and Indian team captain Rohit Sharma has disclosed India’s squad for Asia Cup 2023. The most awaited moment was Tilak Varma’s selection in the team because he has been playing some mature and impressive cricket in last 2-3 months.
The team looks strong on paper. It looks like selectors have tried to create a diverse team, covering every dimension of the game. They have also attempted their best to solve the middle order crisis which was exposed in an unfortunate fashion in the ODI series against Australia a few months back.
Shreyas, KL Rahul Back in the Team
It was on cards all the way. Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul has done a superb job for team India in the middle order. Not only they are excellent batters but also the experience they have will be extremely resourceful in utilising the middle overs in the Asia Cup.
Shreyas Iyer can bat and number 4 while KL Rahul can be pushed to number 5 due to the reason that both have been averaging around 50 with a strike rate of 100 at these positions. This is Asia Cup so there will be lot of spin and these two players can see off spin very well.
Jasprit Bumrah is back in the team and he was definitely needed because death over bowling was becoming a problem for team India. The team has once again put faith in Suryakumar Yadav who hasn’t been in fine from concerning ODI career.
Sanju Samson has been added as back-up batter while the role of finisher is given to Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma. There is a reason behind such type of diverse team selection, and Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar provided an assessment on this squad.
Strength and Weakness of Indian’s Asia Cup 2023 Squad
Strong Top Order: The top order consisting of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli is definitely a match winning trio. Any of them bat for 20+ overs, the team score will definitely reach 320+.
Struggle Against Left Arm: Here the problem starts, Indian top order has struggled against left arm pacers a lot. The swinging in deliveries had troubled the line-up to the extent of shambolic batting performance. The 2021 T20 World Cup match where Shaheen Shah Afridi removed both of India’s openers. Then they were destroyed by Mitchell Starc in the most haunting way during India vs Australia ODI series.
Variety Among Spinners: India’s Asia Cup 2023 squad has 3 spinners: Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel. No place for Yuzvendra Chahal who could have been handy in Asian conditions. However, there is sharpness in these spinners trio. Jadeja is full of experience, Kuldeep will be no less mystery and Axar can real tighten the screws if runs start to flow.
Will The Real Finisher Please Stand Up? India is playing with too many finishers. It looks like from over 30 to 50, they want to play only with attacking mode. There are Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Tilak Varma and Ishan Kishan. Definitely, all of them can’t play together and there is no substantial batting finisher.
It can work out to some extent in Asia Cup but moving into the World Cup, this mindset will create problems.
Pace is Ace: Jasprit Bumrah’s comeback has just changed the dynamics of Indian fast bowling unit. Mohammad Siraj will create troubles in powerplay and Jasprit Bumrah will provide breakthrough in initial overs as well as in the later stages.
As for now, India’s prime weapon in Asia Cup squad looks like its pace attack. There are lots of options available at the table and choosing the right set will be of extreme importance.
India’s Asia Cup 2023 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.
