Asia Cup 2018: Kohli rested, Rohit Sharma to lead India
The BCCI on Saturday announced a 16-member Indian squad for the Asia Cup 2018, starting in September. Skipper Virat Kohli has been rested keeping the workload in mind and in his absence, Rohit Sharma will lead the Men in Blue. His opening partner, Shikhar Dhawan will be Rohit's deputy for the series, which will be held in the UAE. Here's more on the same.
Who comes in and who's out?
India see three new fresh faces in the squad. The likes of Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav and Khaleel Ahmed were drafted in. Rayudu had missed the England tour after failing the Yo-Yo test. Jadhav was injured and had to sit out. The two customers get a big chance to come good. Suresh Raina was dropped from the side. Umesh Yadav was a surprise exclusion.
Here's the complete squad
Indian squad for Asia Cup 2018 - Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, AT Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Y Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur and Khaleel Ahmed.
Indo-Pak battle to light up Asia Cup
India will lock horns with Pakistan at the 2018 Asia Cup. The arch-rivals are pitted against each other in Group A and will await the qualifying side. On the other hand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will be battling against each other in Group B. The biennial tournament is set to be held at United Arab Emirates (UAE) from September 15 onwards.
Group Stage schedule Asia Cup 2018
Here is the schedule of the Group Stage matches: September 15- Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (Dubai) September 16 - Pakistan vs Qualifier (Dubai) September 17 - Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) September 18- India vs Qualifier (Dubai) September 19- India vs Pakistan (Dubai) September 20- Bangladesh vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Schedule of Super 4 of the Asia Cup 2018
Super Four's schedule: September 21- Group A Winner vs Group B Runner-up September 21- Group B Winner vs Group A Runner-up September 23- Group A Winner vs Group A Runner-up September 23- Group B Winner vs Group B Runner-up September 25- Group A Winner vs Group B Winner September 26- Group A Runner-up vs Group B Runner-up Final will be held on September 28.
