Former Indian skipper and ex-chairman of the selection committee Krishnamachari Srikkanth said that had he been the chairman of selectors currently, pacer Mohammed Shami would have been a part of Men in Blue’s squad for upcoming Asia Cup 2022, which will take place from August 27 onwards. The All-India Senior Selection Committee on Monday announced the 14-members squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. The much-anticipated Asia Cup cricket tournament will take place from August 27 this year. “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,” said Srikkanth during the show ‘Follow The Blues’ on Star Sports.

Srikkanth opines that the squad is good but needs one more medium pacer. He feels bad for Axar Patel, who could not make it to the squad.

“I am very happy for Deepak Hooda – he can bowl a bit, he is a good hitter and he’s a good striker of the ball. What I like about Deepak Hooda is that he is a good striker of the ball, he is 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 blueprint for the ICC T20 World Cup also,” he added.

Former Indian wicketkeeper and ex-chief of selectors Kiran More also said that the event will be special for Virat Kohli since he needs to make a comeback. “It has been too many innings. The other batsmen also have been performing really well. Overall, the squad looks good, and well-balanced. There are good all-rounders too – R Ashwin has been batting well. Definitely, Axar Patel has been performing well throughout 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 am 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,” he added.

Asia Cup will start from August 27 and end on September 11. The much-anticipated match between India and Pakistan will take place on August 28.

The 15th edition of the tournament will be played in the UAE between six teams (main event). Defending champions India are also the most successful team, having won the trophy seven times. While the last edition of the tournament was held in an ODI format, this edition will feature the T20 format.

The six teams are divided into two groups with India, Pakistan and a qualifying team in Group A; and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan forming Group B. Each team plays the other once in the group stage with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Super 4 round. The top 2 teams from Super 4 will qualify for the final.

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

Promoted

The star pacer of India Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel were not available for selection owing to injuries. They are currently undergoing rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru.

Three players – Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar have been named as standbys.