India announce Asia Cup squad with Kohli returns

India announced the squad for the Asia Cup 2022 starting on August 27 in the UAE. Pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the squad for a back injury, but Virat Kohli is set to return following his brief break from international cricket.

Harshal Patel has a rib injury and was also ruled out of the continental Twenty20 tournament, which is set to start on August 27 in the United Arab Emirates. India will meet archrival Pakistan in Dubai on Aug. 28.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India said in a statement that Bumrah and Patel were undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. The absence of strike paceman Bumrah is a big setback for India.

Vice-captain K.L. Rahul will return to action for the first time since the Indian Premier League in May. Rahul, who underwent surgery for a hernia, had been scheduled to play against the West Indies this month but was ruled out of the series after testing positive for COVID-19.

Kohli was rested after India’s tour of England ended in mid-July and has played just in four T20s and scored 81 runs since the Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates last year. He also had below-par run in the IPL last season, making 341 runs at a strike rate of 116.

India’s selectors dropped Ishan Kishan, Kuldeep Yadav and Sanju Samson, who were part of the series against the West Indies. Fast bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan along with leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi and prolific hitter Deepak Hooda were retained.

India, Pakistan and a qualifier will contest Group A in the Asia Cup. Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are in Group B. UAE, Kuwait, Singapore and Hong Kong will compete in the qualifying tournament in Oman from Aug. 20, with the winner to join India and Pakistan in Group A.

The first- and second-place teams from each group will qualify for a Super 4 series, which is a round-robin to determine the two teams to meet in the final on Sept. 11.

Sri Lanka remains the official tournament host of the Asia Cup, despite the venue being shifted away from the island nation because of the economic crisis.

India squad for Asia Cup 2022: Rohit Sharma (captain), K.L. Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan