BENGALURU: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the Asia Cup. While Rohit Sharma will lead the side, KL Rahul – who missed the series against England and West Indies due to injury – has been named the vice-captain.
Virat Kohli, who was ‘rested’ for the series against the West Indies, has made a comeback.
Due to a back injury, ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah has not been included in the squad.
“Jasprit Bumrah has a back injury and will not play in the Asia Cup. He is our main bowler and we would like him to be back in action before the T20 World Cup. We can’t risk him in the Asia Cup and the injury could aggravate,” a senior BCCI official is quoted as saying to a news agency.
Bumrah was part of the ODI series against England but was rested for the away series against West Indies and the upcoming one against Zimbabwe.
According to the source, the back issue will keep Bumrah out for some time. He will also undergo rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru to get fit for the white-ball home series against Australia and South Africa in September-October.
Bumrah had copped back issues a few years ago and didn’t play a lot of matches.
At present, the pacer is in the United States for a vacation.
His injury is a huge blow for the Indian team as he has to get into the rhythm and regain his form before the World T20.
SQUAD: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvi, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan