India squad for Asia Cup 2023: Tilak Varma, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer picked

Another notable addition was the inclusion of both KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. Tilak Varma has also received a maiden ODI call up.

Speaking on Varma’s selection, Agarkar during the press conference, said, “We saw some real promise in west indies. It will give him some exposure. We can pick 17 here in the World Cup, it would be 15.”

“Shreyas has been declared match fit. KL has picked up a small niggle that’s why Sanju is with us,” he added.

Tilak Varma impressed everyone in his debut series against West Indies. The youngster looked technically sound and showed the temperament required for the international stage. Both former Indian coach Ravi Shastri and the selector Sandeep Patil concurred that they would have the 20-year-old in their team for both Asia Cup and World Cup.

Sanju Samson has been named as back-up keeper for the continental event.

Here is the full squad:

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (v/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna. 

The Asia Cup 2023 will be held in two countries in a hybrid model, with Pakistan hosting four games and Sri Lanka nine.

India will play their first match against Pakistan on September 2.

The top four teams will progress to the semi-finals and the final will be played on September 17.

The 2023 Asia Cup will be contested by six teams – India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.