BCCI announces squad for Asia Cup; Virat Kohli & KL Rahul return, Sanju Samson misses out

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday announced a 15-member squad for the 2022 Asia Cup, which is scheduled to be played in the UAE from August 27 to September 11. Rohit Sharma has been named the captain of the Indian team, with KL Rahul as his deputy. India's lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah has not been included in the squad due to injury concerns. Sanju Samson is also not a part of the squad despite playing for India in recent T20I games.

Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, and Ravi Bishnoi have been handed their maiden opportunity to represent India on a big stage like Asia Cup. Wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik has been included in the squad as a backup for Rishabh Pant and also as a finisher. Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin will be India's lead spinners at the Asia Cup.

India's squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.

The tournament was originally slated to be held in Sri Lanka but due to the ongoing political and economic crisis in the country, it has been moved to the UAE. India are the defending champions and will enter the 2022 edition of the competition as favourites. India are scheduled to play their first game against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28.

Asia Cup 2022: Full schedule

1. Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan - Group B match - August 27

2. India vs Pakistan - Group A match - August 28

3. Bangladesh vs Afghanistan - Group B match - August 30

4. India vs Qualifier - Group A match - August 31

5. Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh - Group B match - September 1

6. Pakistan vs Qualifier - Group A match - September 2

7. B1 vs B2 - Super 4 match - September 3

8. A1 vs A2 - Super 4 match - September 4

9. A1 vs B1 - Super 4 match - September 6

10. A2 vs B2 - Super 4 match - September 7

11. A1 vs B2 - Super 4 match - September 8

12. B1 vs A2 - Super 4 match - September 9

13. Final (1st Super 4 vs 2nd Super 4) - September 11

Image: BCCI/Twitter