BCCI announce squad for Asia Cup 2018 

The BCCI have announced the Indian squad for Asia Cup 2018 to be played in the United Arab Emirates from 15th September. Biggest news in this team is that Indian captain Virat Kohli has been rested regarding the workload he has gone through and back pain.

Rohit Sharma will lead the side instead of Virat Kohli. Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul are the other openers included in squad. Manish Pandey makes a comeback in the Indian squad after performing brilliantly in quadrangular series. Kedar Jadhav returns to the team after an injury in the Indian Premier League season 11.

Ambati Rayudu also has been rewarded with great performances. Left arm pace bowler from Rajasthan Khaleel Ahmed receives its maiden call to the Indian team.

The team will be strengthened with the return of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah missed the entire ODI and T20I Series against England due to an injury. Bhuvneshwar Kumar makes a comeback into the team. He played one match for India A before getting recalled into Indian ODI squad.

Dinesh Karthik retains his place in ODI squad as the second wicketkeeper. MS Dhoni did not perform according to expectations in ODI series against England with bat.

Hardik Pandya retains his place as an all-rounder along with Axar Patel. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are the two frontline spinners in the Indian squad.

Shardul Thakur, Khaleel Ahmed, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah are the 4 main frontline pacers included in the squad. India will take on qualifier 1 on 18th September and then take on arch-rivals on 19th September.

India are the defending champions of Asia Cup tournament beating Bangladesh in 2016 edition which was played in T20 format due to World Cup. With the return of Kedar Jadhav, it will be interesting to see how he copes. Manish Pandey deserves a chance in the ODI squad and would love to perform well in the upcoming Asia Cup.

Here we look at the Indian team for Asia Cup 2018

Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan (VC), KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (WK), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Khaleel Ahmed.