Asia Cup-2023: Team India Could Be Announced On Monday; Fitness Of KL Rahul And Shreyas Iyer Will Be Considered

Team India for Asia Cup-2023 may be announced tomorrow on Monday. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)'s Men's Senior Selection Committee meeting will be held in New Delhi on Monday. According to sources, Jasprit Bumrah can be made the vice-captain of the team in place of Hardik Pandya.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid will participate in this meeting to be led by Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar.

Rahul, Shreyas are currently at NCA in Bengaluru

 The fitness status of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer will be the most important issue of this meeting, as the BCCI is yet to get the final nod from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) regarding these two players. Both the players are currently at the NCA in Bengaluru, where they are taking part in match-simulation exercises and practice matches to prepare for 50-over cricket.

According to reports, Iyer fielded the entire 50 overs without any problems and batted for 38 runs in his first practice match earlier this week. The match was closely monitored by NCA head VVS Laxman and batting coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar. Rahul did not feature in that match and is expected to feature in the second practice match.

Rahul's fitness is crucial in absence of Rishabh Pant

Rahul's fitness is crucial in the absence of injured Rishabh Pant to solve Team India's wicketkeeper problem. If Rahul returns, he is likely to bat at number 5 and keep wickets. If he doesn't make a comeback, Ishan Kishan is the frontrunner for the wicketkeeper's role.

Regarding fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, a BCCI source told if you look at the experience in terms of leadership, Bumrah is ahead of Hardik Pandya. He captained the Test team in 2022. He was also the vice-captain of the ODI team before Pandya during the ODI tour of South Africa.

Bumrah could become vice-captain

So it is possible Bumrah could become the ODI vice-captain for both the Asia Cup and the World Cup. This is the reason why he was given the captaincy in Ireland in place of Rituraj Gaikwad.

The World Cup will be played in October after the Asia Cup. So the team for the Asia Cup will be selected keeping the World Cup in mind. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given time till September 5 to select the team for the World Cup.

The selectors panel wants to pick the same 15 players for both the tournaments. The selected team and some stand-by players will attend a six-day camp in Bengaluru before leaving for Colombo for the Asia Cup.