After a series of failures at the International Cricket Council (ICC) events, the Indian cricket team would be targeting the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023. But before that, they have the much-awaited Asia Cup 2023 assignment, featuring top teams such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The Asia Cup 2023 tournament is slated to take place in a hybrid format. 4 matches will be taking place in Pakistan and the remaining 9 matches will be taking place in Sri Lanka. Security concerns surrounding the Indian cricket team in Pakistan has been the main reason behind Sri Lanka being the co-host country.
Notably, Sri Lanka are the defending champions of this tournament. India have named a strong side for the tournament and the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer will be once again in the blue jersey.
In this article, we take a look at the India’s strongest playing XI in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023:
Openers: Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma
The opening duo of Shubman and Rohit Sharma is all set to spearhead India’s batting approach in the Asia Cup 2023. While Rohit Sharma is the captain of the side and one of the most experienced batters in the team, Shubman Gill is a youngster and brims with a lot of talent.
Both these batters have carved their own niche in the team. Gill has an ODI average of 62.5 and Rohit Sharma is known for notching up double centuries with ease.
Top-order: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul
India’s famed top-order and middle-order is all set to send shivers down the spines of the opposition batters. Virat Kohli is unarguably the best batter in the world and bosses this format. He has a stupendous average of 57.3 in this format with 46 hundreds under his belt.
Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are seasoned campaigners and will be staging a comeback into the side after injury layoffs.
Middle-order: Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja
Two of the finest finishers and all-rounders in the world, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja will be important cogs in the wheels of the Indian team. Pandya is the vice-captain of this side and will have additional responsibilities under his belt.
Jadeja has 2560 runs and 194 wickets under his belt in the ODI format and is a legendary all-rounder of the Indian cricket team.
Bowlers: Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj
As India’s matches will be taking place at the spin-friendly conditions in Sri Lanka, it is viable to play 3 spinners (full-time and part-time combined). Hence, the team management might be tempted to go with Axar Patel ahead of Prasidh Krishna.
Patel will add depth to India’s batting resources as well and will be a good combination alongside Kuldeep Yadav. Pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj will be key assets of the bowling arsenal of India.
India’s Strongest Playing XI in Asia Cup 2023
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (w/k), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Siraj
India’s Squad for Asia Cup 2023
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman 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, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
Also read: Asia Cup 2023: Nepal Announce Squad; Rohit Paudel To Lead
