On Monday, India captain Rohit Sharma and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar spoke to the press to announce the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup.
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The squad announced had few surprises, save for the inclusion of Tilak Varma, who is yet to play in ODIs. The Asia Cup squad is particularly relevant this year as the ODI World Cup follows soon after, and the squad composition will remain much the same.
Both KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer were named in the squad as they undergo rehabilitation programmes from long-term injuries, but another talking point was the exclusion of senior spinners R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal.
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'The door is open for all': Rohit Sharma
The chosen squad did not include any off-spinners, with neither Ashwin nor Washington Sundar making the cut. Chahal also missed out due to the team management feeling only one wrist spinner was required, in the form of Kuldeep Yadav.
Rohit Sharma however, refused to rule Ashwin, Chahal or Sundar out of the World Cup squad, saying,
"The door is open for all. If we need Chahal for the World Cup, we will try to squeeze him in. The same goes for Ashwin and Washington."
Of the three, Chahal is the only white-ball regular. Ashwin last played an ODI in January 2022 and a T20I in November 2022 while Sundar has been in and out of bilateral series squads.
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What next for Team India?
India will be in action next in the third and final T20I of their bilateral series against Ireland on Wednesday, 23 August. The Men in Blue will be looking to complete a clean sweep of the series.
