Twitter reacts as BCCI announce Asia Cup squad sans Virat Kohli

What's the news?

BCCI announced the Indian squad for Asia Cup to be played in the United Arab Emirates. The selection panel put out a list of 16 players for the tournament which is set to start in two weeks time.

The notable absentee from the squad was the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli and the Indian contingent in the continental tournament will be led by Rohit Sharma. Rohit's opening partner Shikhar Dhawan will be his deputy during the tournament.

While Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Amabati Rayudu, and Axar Patel made their way back into the side, Khaleel Ahmed, a 20-year old from Rajasthan, got his maiden national call-up. On the other hand, Suresh Raina, Shreyas Iyer, Umesh Yadav and Siddarth Kaul were dropped from the side.

Indian squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Y Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Khaleel Ahmed

In case you didn't know:

Virat Kohli suffered a back injury during the second Test match at Lords and did not take the field on Day 3 for some time. The Indian captain addressed the issue after his team's loss to England in the second Test.

"Yesterday and today, it wasn't great. The back can be very tricky when it goes off. It happened in the latter half of the last leg of the South Africa tour when I missed a T20 game. That was very sudden, it happened a day before the game."

Heart of the matter

The back injury that Kohli has been suffering from is not a new one and has resurfaced quite a few times recently. Being the captain of the Indian side in all three formats, Virat Kohli has played almost every game for the nation putting a lot of stress on his body.

The strain doesn't come as a surprise as Virat Kohli, being a high-intensity player on the field, is willing to contribute to the team's success in every possible way. The rest might help Virat Kohli recuperate completely from the injury so that he will not miss any crucial encounters in the future.

Final say

Virat Kohli is a key member of the team and his performance will be key India's success in the World Cup next year. The decision taken by the selection panel might have been made keeping in my the physical needs of the captain so that he can give his best whenever he is on the field.

Resting Virat Kohli will open up opportunities for players like Manish Pandey, Ambati Rayudu, Kedhar Jadhav and Dinesh Karthik to cement their place in the middle order before the World Cup. The Indian squad still remains a strong unit even without their regular captain and under Rohit Sharma's captaincy, the team will look to win the tournament.

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Twitter reactions to India's squad for Asia Cup

Very happy to see Manish Pandey and Ambati Rayudu back in the team. Been hearing good things about Khaleel Ahmed. Being left handed has helped him. Bit hard maybe on Kaul.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 1, 2018

Virat Kohli has been rested from Asia Cup 2018. So no Amir vs Kohli this year. #AsiaCup

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) September 1, 2018

Rohit Sharma will be leading India in Asia Cup, because Virat Kohli is the 'skipper'. #AsiaCup

— Bollywood Gandu (@BollywoodGandu) September 1, 2018

Congratulations @imK_Ahmed on your maiden India call-up. Big opportunity, make it count. #AsiaCup

— Yusuf Pathan (@iamyusufpathan) September 1, 2018

So #indvspak -- ICC's and fans marquee clash means nothing. Or else #AsiaCup has no relevance. Or BCCI means a defeat to Pakistan is no big deal. Or else India can beat Pakistan even without Virat... Why not let Virat pick and choose his games, rest him for entire WI series.

— G. S. Vivek (@GSV1980) September 1, 2018

Asia Cup without Virat Kohli is like Netflix without Radhika Apte. Incomplete. #AsiaCup

— SAGAR (@sagarcasm) September 1, 2018

Can't imagine Asia Cup without Kohli though. Can't imagine an India vs Pakistan without Kohli. #AsiaCup

— Manya (@CSKian716) September 1, 2018

Meanwhile when Bangladeshi's hear that Virat Kohli has been rested for #AsiaCup. pic.twitter.com/pvV1RZNGrJ

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) September 1, 2018

Whatttttttttt! No Ash in #AsiaCup .Hate you selectors

— Ayush Aman (@AyushAsh99_23) September 1, 2018

As soon as Srilanka saw no Kohli, they added Malinga back😂 #ASIACUP #srilanka

— Naveen (@ImNsamy) September 1, 2018

Virat Kohli has been rested for #AsiaCup1. Rohit Sharma is official captain of the tournament. 2. MS Dhoni is unofficial captain of the tournament.

— SatwikMathangi 🌟 (@seven_week) September 1, 2018

When you realise Virat Kohli is rested for Asia Cup #AsiaCup pic.twitter.com/YQrue0UfD8

— Don't Know My Name (@BhatkaPanchi) September 1, 2018

Fans to #ViratKohli #AsiaCup pic.twitter.com/1ICX5PXJ34

— Rishabh Srivastava (@AskRishabh) September 1, 2018

Why Pak fans are getting mad for Kohli skipping Asia Cup??? 🤔.Guys,Nobody gives a damn about Asia cup #AsiaCup

— Sparsh Bhardwaj🇮🇳 (@iamSBhardwaj) September 1, 2018

It's disheartening to see mayank agrawal missing out in #AsiaCup

— Prakhar (@prakharshubham) September 1, 2018

Why don't I see Risabh Pant's name in India's Asia Cup squad ? Shouldn't India start to look at him as an option for 2019 world cup ? @bhogleharsha #ENGvIND #Asiacup

— ABHISHEK MISHRA (@abhishek_iitkgp) September 1, 2018