Kohli returns for the Asia Cup, Bumrah injured

Injury concerns to key bowlers remain a worry but Indian selectors appear to have shortlisted 18 which will take the flight down under

Had it not been for injuries and players returning from rehabilitation, India’s 15-member squad for the Asia Cup could have been identical to the team that is expected to play in the October-November T20 World Cup in Australia. But the selectors named a depleted three-man pace attack on Monday for the UAE tournament with spearhead Jasprit Bumrah nursing a back injury and T20 specialist Harshal Patel yet to recover from a rib injury. The pacers are undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, a BCCI media release said.

Virat Kohli during his last limited-overs series as India captain.  (Getty)

The big news for Indian cricket fans is the return of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. Kohli is currently on a break from the game, having made himself unavailable for the just-ended T20Is against West Indies and the upcoming ODIs against Zimbabwe. Rahul has not played for India after IPL, having undergone sports hernia operation with his comeback delayed further due to Covid. The two are expected to be slotted back in the top order and team up again with skipper Rohit Sharma.

However, when Kohli and Rahul have missed out, India have looked to adapt a more aggressive, modern T20 batting approach in the last nine months. The team has tried many opening options, Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Hooda. Opposing teams will be keen to see if India continue to be flexible with their batting order in the Asia Cup.

Kishan and Iyer are not named in the 15-member squad. And although Iyer is in the reserve list, he is likely to be omitted from the World Cup squad. Instead, it is Hooda who has made a strong case for himself with an aggressive approach against spin and improvisation against pace. The sectors will also factor in his useful off-spin.

While some of the big names in the top order have a point to prove, the middle and lower-middle order looks the most settled. Yadav, Pant, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja select themselves and four of the five are likely to make the playing eleven all the time.

On the bowling front, left-armer Arshdeep Singh’s rise has been phenomenal and extended opportunities to pacer Avesh Khan despite some poor games were evidence that he is rated highly by the team management. Mohammed Shami’s continued omission is a surprise as he could have been slotted in for his prowess in bowling in the powerplay phase, with Bumrah out. Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be the all-phase strike bowler with Deepak Chahar, returning from injury, named in the reserves.

Interestingly, the selectors have named as many as four spinners. Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin are the finger spinners and Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravi Bishnoi the wrist spinners. It’s likely that Ashwin or young Bishnoi could miss out when the World Cup squad is picked. Whether there will be enough assistance for spinners in the UAE—India will play all their matches in Dubai—remains to be seen.

Barring injuries, the 18 named for the Asia Cup—Axar Patel is also among the three reserves—and based on the fitness of Bumrah and Harshal Patel, India’s World Cup squad could be finalised from this shortlist of 20. India are scheduled to play six T20Is at home—three each against Australia and South Africa in September-October—but it would be too late by then as ICC requires the final squads to be named a month in advance.