The Indian captain Virat Kohli has been rested for the Asia Cup 2018 which is being played at the United Arab Emirates from September 15. Opening batsman Rohit Sharma will be leading the 16-member squad while Shikhar Dhawan has been named the vice-captain. India had a long tour of England, which consisted of five Tests, prior to the Asia Cup.
In fact, the Test series against the Windies at home will begin in less than a week's time after the tournament ends.
According to the ESPNCricinfo, the selectors decided to give the skipper a bit of rest because of the tight schedule of the home series against the Windies which will be followed by the away tour to Australia later this year.
Among the players who were the part of the Test squad in England, only Virat Kohli is a notable absentee, while the rest of the ODI regulars such as Dhawan, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah have been named in the squad.
Star Sports upset Virat Kohli not playing Asia Cup. None of your business, says BCCI@anandvasu reports: https://t.co/ulWjzR1HJA pic.twitter.com/hweoGM5FXK
— ThePrint (@ThePrintIndia) September 16, 2018
Khaleel Ahmed gets his maiden call
There is one new face in the squad too, as Khaleel Ahmed, the left-arm pacer from Rajasthan received his maiden call for the national side. Ahmed has lately been in some good form for India A and has been included as an extra seamer.
Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, and Ambati Rayudu are all back in the ODI squad after missing out of the ODI series against England in June. Jadhav was out due to an injury, while Pandey's form was the cause of his exclusion. Rayudu, on the other hand, made a comeback after he cleared the yo-yo test.
#AsiaCup2018: India are better side even without @imVkohli, says Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed#ViratKohli #INDvPAK #SarfrazAhmed #RohitSharma #PAKvIND
— CricketNDTV (@CricketNDTV) September 18, 2018
READ: https://t.co/4p5pj1Q6lR pic.twitter.com/koEHH7Gy56
Raina, Umesh left out of India squad
Suresh Raina, who made his comeback in the ODI squad after two and half years earlier this year, has been left out again due to his unsuccessful tour of England.
Other players who have been excluded from the squad are seamers Siddharth Kaul and Umesh Yadav and batsman Shreyas Iyer.
Jasprit Bumrah, who missed that series has also returned to the side, while Bhuvaneshwar Kumar has recovered in time to make himself available for the Asia Cup.
Here’s wishing Team India a super series at the Asia Cup. 👊🏻 #Meninblue #AsiaCup2018 @BCCI
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) September 18, 2018
India is set to face Hong Kong in their first game of the tournament on September 18 in Dubai, which will be followed by the much-anticipated game against Pakistan the very next day. Hong Kong has won the toss and put India to bat. The India score was 34/0 in 5 overs when last reports came in.
Read: Pakistan vs Hong Kong live cricket streaming on PTV Sports at 5 PM IST on Sunday
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