NEW DELHI: The men’s senior selection committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), led by Ajit Agarkar, will meet in New Delhi on Monday to discuss the Asia Cup squad. Indian captain Rohit Sharma will also attend the meeting.
India’s team has yet to announce their squad for Asia Cup and World Cup amid concerns over the injury of their key players, while nations like Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh have already named their Asia Cup squads.
England and Australia have also announced the provisional squad for the World Cup 2023. It will be interesting to see if India selects 15 players or selects a few more since all of these extended squads contain more than 15 players.
India’s three key players Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer suffered injuries that kept them out of the action. Although, Bumrah has made his comeback in the three-match series against Ireland where he is leading the side. The selector would have an eye on the fitting of Bumrah in the ongoing series.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, Jay Shah, on July 19 announced the schedule for the Asia Cup 2023. The tournament will kick off on August 30, with arch-rivals India and Pakistan set to lock horns in Kandy, Sri Lanka, on September 2.
The tournament will follow a hybrid model, with four matches to be hosted by Pakistan and all of India’s matches and a total of nine fixtures taking place in the Emerald Isle, Sri Lanka. India is in Group A, which also has Pakistan and Nepal, while Group B comprises Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan.
The tournament will kick off with a clash between Pakistan and Nepal in Multan, Pakistan. India will start their campaign against Pakistan on September 2, in Kandy. They will be playing their second group stage match at the same venue against Nepal on September 4.
Matches in the Super Four stage will start on September 6, with a clash between the A1 and B2 sides in the respective groups, at Lahore. The rest of the matches will take place in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
On September 17, the final will be held in Colombo.
The tournament will be held in a 50-over format, keeping in mind the ICC Cricket World Cup, which will be hosted in India from October 5 to November 19.
Sri Lanka is the defending Asia Cup champion, having won the title last year. They have won a total of six titles. India has been the most successful team in the tournament’s history, with a total of 7 titles. (ANI)