Three players who got surprise exclusion from India squad for Asia Cup 2023

India will be opening their Asia Cup campaign against Pakistan at Pallekele on 2nd September.

India’s Asia Cup 2023 squad threw a little surprise at the fans with a few selections. The talks were about India keeping an extra spinner ready for the upcoming World Cup along with the Asia Cup, but team management finally decided to just go with Kuldeep Yadav along with two all-rounder spin options, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja. They excluded Ravi Ashwin, Washington Sundar, and Yuzvendra Chahal from the squad. Chahal’s exclusion took everyone by surprise, as the fans were expecting the Kul-cha duo to bowl in partnership.

Similarly, Suryakumar Yadav’s selection over Sanju Samson also came as a surprise for many fans. With almost a full-strength squad for the Asia Cup, India are set to take on Pakistan in their opening clash on September 2 at Pallekele. Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are back in the squad to boost the middle order, along with Tilak Varma and Suryakumar as backups in the squad. All these names have two games to impress everyone and secure their places in the 2023 World Cup. World Cup squad will be announced on September 5 after India’s league games in the Asia Cup.

Surprise exclusion from team India:

1. Yuzvendra Chahal 

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal must be feeling disappointed to not see his name among the 17-member squad. India decided to go with Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel in the team. Ajit Agarkar explained that it will not be a useful strategy to carry two wrist spinners in the team for big events. Captain Rohit also revealed that to strengthen the batting, they have picked Axar and Jadeja over the other spin options. Chahal also put out a cryptic tweet with emojis where clouds cover the sun to suggest that he will be working on his comeback.

2. Sanju Samson 

Sanju Samson was expected to make it into the Asia Cup squad along with fully fit KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, but once again he has been shunted out of the main squad. Suryakumar Yadav has been picked as a middle-order batting option along with Rahul, Iyer, and Tilak. Sanju Samson did a decent job in his recent games for India, but he once again failed to keep his place intact. His ODI average is more than double what Suryakumar has, yet selectors have shown trust in SKY once again. Sanju will be there as a backup option, as KL Rahul got a niggle and is still recovering.

3. Mukesh Kumar 

India’s new pace sensation Mukesh Kumar was also expected to make it into the Indian squad along with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj. The selectors have given Prasidh Krishna another go after the injury and excluded Mukesh from the race. Mukesh made his debut in all three formats of international cricket on the recently concluded West Indies tour. As India are getting back to full strength, Mukesh failed to enter the Asia Cup squad. Mukesh Kumar picked up four wickets in the three ODI games he played against West Indies.

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