Why is Virat Kohli not playing today's India vs Bangladesh Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 match?

Virat Kohli has been rested for India's Super 4 match against Bangladesh at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Friday. Rohit Sharma said at the toss that he wanted to give players who have spent a lot of time on the bench an opportunity today.

Kohli has played regular cricket in 2023. In the ongoing Asia Cup, he has batted thrice, scoring 4 (7), 122* (94), and 3 (12) against Pakistan twice and Sri Lanka, respectively. The ace batter is pivotal to India's ODI World Cup hopes and is often among the first players to get for dead rubbers.

India qualified for the final by defeating Sri Lanka by 41 runs, which ruled Bangladesh out of the tournament. India has rested four more players - Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav.

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Who has replaced Virat Kohli in India's playing 11 for the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 match?

India have brought in two batters from the bench today - Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav. Although the latter is a specialist batter, Tilak will likely take Kohli's spot at No. 3. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill would continue to open the innings and the Men in Blue wouldn't want to change much of their middle order.

Tilak had a superb start to his international career, scoring consecutive half-centuries against West Indies in a recent T20I series. His left-handedness and impressive temperament led to his selection for the Asia Cup.

Suryakumar, the top-ranked T20I batter, has struggled to get used to the ODI format, scoring just over 500 runs across 26 matches so far at an average of 24.33. But observers feel the team is likely sticking with him because of his game-changing skills and composure under pressure, which he has shown in T20s.

He'd likely bat in the lower order in Hardik Pandya's absence.