Asia Cup T20: Who will make the final cut for Indian cricket team

The brain trust in the Indian camp will meet early Monday morning (Florida time) to decide on the Asia Cup squad. With an experimental side lording it over the West Indies across 5 T20Is across the Caribbean and Florida’s Fort Lauderdale ground, the think tank will have to cull 15 players from an impressive pool. Looming large on the selectors’ heads is October’s T20 World Cup (to be held in Australia), and the question remains whether they choose a full-strength side for the continental showdown or give their bench strength another look. 

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Of the 15, 12 places are, more or less, set in stone. Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik are the batting mainstays. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja offer all-round strength, while Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel comprise the established bowling unit. The tussle for the remaining three slots is likely to be intense, with a bagful of names in the mix. Against West Indies, the likes of Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel and Deepak Hooda have staked their claim on an Asia Cup berth. So has Ravi Ashwin. His T20 renaissance continues. He has scored more briskly than Jadeja in T20Is in 2022, all the while being miserly with the ball. Kuldeep Yadav’s dazzling spell of 3/12 in the 5th T20I leaves him in the fray, but he is a long shot. 

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Of the other names, Arshdeep Singh’s pace and ability to bowl yorkers consistently make him a good option. Axar Patel is a like-for-like for Ravi Jadeja, which makes it increasingly likely that he misses out. Between Ashwin and Bishnoi, the better sense would be to opt for the off-spinner. Chahal remains the premier limited-overs leggie, limiting Bishnoi’s scope of adding to the squad. Finally, Hooda, who was explosive in the IPL, gobbled his chances in Indian blue. The hard-hitting batter also has overs up his sleeve, making him an interesting option. 

Predicted Squad

Rohit Sharma (C) 

KL Rahul 

Virat Kohli 

Suryakumar Yadav 

Rishabh Pant 

Dinesh Karthik

Hardik Pandya 

Ravindra Jadeja 

Yuzvendra Chahal 

Jasprit Bumrah

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Harshal Patel 

Deepak Hooda

Arshdeep Singh 

Ravi Ashwin