Team India reported their squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 tournament in UAE later this month. With former skipper Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, the batting looks strong for any semblance of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Hooda in excellent form. Nonetheless, the team were dealt a major blow with bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah ruled out because of injury.

In Bumrah’s absence, the speed bowling resources seem weak with Bhuvneshwar Kumar leading the attack alongside youngsters Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan. Former India opener and chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth talked emphatically on how experienced pacer Shami left out of the squad.

“In my team, Shami was literally there. If I was the Chairman of the selection committee, I think Shami would have been there and probably, I would not have gone with Ravi Bishnoi. But I still believe that Axar Patel was a serious contender in my team. It would have been a big toss-up between Axar Patel and Ashwin,”

Srikkanth said on Star Sports show ‘FOLLOW THE BLUES’ on Monday

Shami got 20 wickets in 16 matches for the IPL 2022 heroes Gujarat Titans and has gotten 216 Test and 152 ODI wickets in his profession. Srikkanth added that the group needed ‘one more medium-pacer’.

“I think the squad is pretty good but I think we would need one more medium pacer. We are going with one medium pacer short. Two wrist spinners is fine. I feel bad for Axar Patel, who has missed out. I am very happy for Deepak Hooda – he can bowl a bit, he’s a good hitter and he’s a good striker of the ball, what I like about Deepak Hooda is that he’s a good striker of the ball, he’s a flirter. Otherwise, this squad is a fantastic squad, only feel bad for Axar Patel. I still believe that he’s a good bowling all-rounder, may be in Australia conditions. I am not going for just the Asia Cup, but yes, this must be a blue print for the ICC T20 World Cup also,”

Srikkanth felt.

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‘Asia Cup 2022 will be special for Virat Kohli’

 “This will definitely be special for Virat Kohli since he now needs to make a comeback, it’s been too many innings. The other batsmen also have been performing really well. Overall, the squad looks good, well balanced. There are good all-rounders too – R Ashwin has been batting well,”

Kiran More, former selection chairman said.

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“Definitely, Axar Patel has been performing well through the year too. I like the team combination and I was really happy with Ravi Bishnoi’s selection. It brought a variation to the team. According to me, this is a good team. I’m also happy for Arshdeep Singh. He has been performing well in the IPL, against West Indies, where he was the Player of the Series and bowled well. We were in search of a left-arm bowler, who we have found in Arshdeep Singh,”

More added.

India’s team for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (bad habit commander), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-guardian), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-attendant), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.