India Asia Cup 2023 Squad Announcement Highlights:Tilak Varma earns call-up; KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer return

Rahul plays as a wicketkeeper batter. The hope is he would be fit to do that from the first match. This is just a small setback. Keeping and batting is his role and he is a very important player.

Tilak has also been included in the Indian squad for the Asian Games and because of the clashing dates, there is no way he can play both tournaments all the way through. Agarkar says that a decision on him will be made later.

“It is for the outside world to create those scenarios. You have to play well. All teams are here to compete hard. There is some advantage playing at home but nothing more. All these teams have played in India a lot. So no such thing as favourites or underdogs. This (Asia Cup) is the right tournament to perform well, test ourselves under pressure and respond. That is how it has been in previous World Cups as well.”

This is not an official preliminary squad but Agarkar says that it is "obvious" that the World Cup team will be chosen from among these players. So this, for now, is the de facto preliminary squad for the World Cup.

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

Reserve: Sanju Samson

It is a 17-man squad, not 16. Don't know who made the boo boo but Star initially said that Gill has been dropped, after they had first displayed a squad in which Gill was included. Now, as Rohit and Agarkar take their seats in front of the media, it is confirmed that Gill is indeed, in. 

The initial sureties is that Tilak Varma has been named while Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul have been included. There is some confusion about whether Shubman Gill is included or not. Yuzvendra Chahal is dropped, Prasidh Krishna is included. 

Now there have been so many things spoken about the batters that we have somewhat forgotten about the selection headache in the bowling department. Prasidh Krishna gave a reminder of just how good he is with his bouncers in Ireland. He joins Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar among the fast bowling candidates. Bumrah and even Siraj can already be considered as lock-in's in that team and so it really is one positions that all these bowlers are fighting for. Among the spinners, India have already left Ravichandran Ashwin by the wayside, which is a luxury that no other team in the world would have access to. Ravindra Jadeja seems an assured started due to his all-round ability and so it is Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravi Bishnoi who are the leading contenders in the spin department.

Ravi Shastri had said that getting Virat Kohli back in the No.4 position might be a great option for India. Now, Sanjay Manjrekar is also echoing that sentiment. If you have Kohli in No.4, a lot of issues will be solved, he says. “Ishan Kishan can be No.3, then Tilak in No.5, SKY, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja; that is already looking like a good squad.”

“You go with form and temperament, clearly he has got both. He has shown great temperament representing MI and India. I understand the logic behind habving a leftie in the middle order. Last thing you want is being tied down by a bowling combination in the middle order,” said Tom Moody on Star Sports

“If you are ready and you are right, it's time to pick regardless of whether it is your 1st game or 100th.”

Ajit Agarkar, of course, is the chairperson of the committee. The other names on the panel are Shiv Sundar Das, Subroto Banerjee, Salil Ankola and Sridharan Sharath.

The selectors are having a meeting with Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid in attendance as we speak. The announcement of the squad will be done by chairman Agarkar and Rohit is also expected to be at the press conference. It will be streamed live on Hotstar and Star Sports.

After a couple of false tries, it seems the BCCI have got it right this time around. Jasprit Bumrah hasn't yet bowled at his screaming best in Ireland but he has taken 2 wickets in both matches he played. Moreover, he has shown absolutely no signs of niggles in the two matches and has put in a shift in the field as well. Him being in the Asia Cup squad now seems like a foregone conclusion.

It had looked like India had found their ODI No.4 in Shreyas Iyer and it is quite likely that he will indeed be taking that spot back considering how poor Suryakumar Yadav has been in the time that his Mumbai teammate was injured. But now, in classical Indian cricket style, Tilak Varma seems to have made enough of an impression to actually be considered for that spot despite having never played an ODI in his life. He is talented and he may turn out to be the ideal solution to India's issues with that spot but the fact remains that England and Australia, the teams that India are considered at par with, if not above, have announced preliminary squads and pretty much know the make up of their top order while India are still experimenting, building, breaking down and rebuilding. 

KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are among the star players who have been out due to injury but are now expected to make a comeback. It will be seen today if they are put into the throes of a tournament right away as India prepare to unveil their squad for the Asia Cup. There is also the topic of whether they will decide to give Tilak Varma an ODI debut and try him out at No.4. Has Yashasvi Jaiswal done enough to warrant a look? Is there any substance to rumours of Jasprit Bumrah giving a tough challenge to Hardik Pandya for the vice-captain's post? These are just some of the many questions floating around the Indian team right now and hopefully, we will get more answers than fodder for fresh questions today afternoon.