With Asia Cup starting in less than two weeks, BCCI has announced the Indian squad for the tournament. Tilak Varma, who had a good T20 series against West Indies is selected in the squad. This will be his first odi assignment as all the chances he has got is in the shortest format of the game till now. Kl Rahul and Shreyas Iyer make it back into the main squad, after they had to take a break owing to their injuries. While KL is included in the squad as the mainstay keeper, Ishan Kishan makes his way in the side as a batter.

Bumrah's return to squad has impressed many in the ongoing Ireland series, and it's not a surprise to see him in the squad for Asia Cup. Kuldeep Yadav makes his return in the odi side after his string of impressive performances in the odi and T20 series against West Indies. Prasidha Krishna makes his way into the squad owing to his good performance in the ongoing series against Ireland. Siraj and Shami will be leading the attack along with Bumrah, and Thakur has been chosen in the squad for his all-round abilities. Apart from the main squad, Sanju Samson is included in the squad as a standby player, and as a backup for KL Rahul, who might miss a few matches due to niggle.

The squad looks balanced, however the inclusion of Tilak Varma has sparked debate online. The southpaw has impressed everyone with his batting prowess in the series against West Indies. However, in spite of his good performances some critics feel that his name should've been missing from the squad. The main argument put by critics is that Tilak Varma is yet to play any Odi games for Men in Blue, and selecting him directly in 50 over game in a tournament like Asia Cup lacks logic. The possible thought process behind his selection by the board is because they are thinking about him for the world cup, and Asia Cup is going to be his critical test for the same. What further adds to him case is the lack of left handers India is facing, combined with the number 4 spot which is bothering them. And inclusion of Varma is suddenly giving them a chance to answer both these questions.

Another surprise in the squad is the decision of handing over the vice captaincy to Hardik Pandya. Pandya's performance as a captain in the series against was below par, and with seniors coming into the side, it seems like a poor decision. What further strengthens the argument is the current form of Bumrah the way he is leading the second string team in the series against Ireland. Some sources had already quoted that Bumrah would be preferred over Hardik, although the final announcement said differently. Nevertheless, the team looks balanced and would look win the tournament. The Asia Cup this year is happening in 50-over format as a practice to ODI World cup happening from October. And all the teams would be raring to go. Particularly, India would look to do well against arch rivals Pakistan, last year champions Sri Lanka who defeated them in the last edition. Lets hope to see our team gain the confidence through this Asia Cup

Squad: Rohit Sharma(C), Shubhman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Kl Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya(VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

Standby players: Sanju Samson