Virat Kohli, KL Rahul return to squad for Asia Cup 2022, injured Jasprit Bumrah ruled out

Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the 15-member squad for the 2022 Asia Cup, to be played from August 27 to September 11 in the UAE.

Former skipper Virat Kohli returned to the side having last featured during India's tour of England. He was rested for India's tours of West Indies and the upcoming series against Zimbabwe.

Pacer Jasprit Bumrah, however, was excluded from the squad, owing to back injury.

"Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel were not available for selection owing to injuries. They are currently undergoing rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru," BCCI said in a statement.

"Three players - Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar have been named as standbys," it added.

K L Rahul also made a comeback, having returned to full fitness after a prolonged battle with injury.

Rahul underwent a sports hernia surgery after the IPL. He was set to return during India's T20I series against West Indies, but his comeback was further delayed by a positive Covid-19 test ahead of the tour.

Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has retained his place in the side on the back of his impressive performances during the West Indies tour.

The 15th edition of the tournament will be played in the UAE between six teams (main event). Defending champions India are also the most successful team, having won the trophy seven times.

While the last edition of the tournament was held in an ODI format, this edition will feature the T20 format.

The six teams are divided into two groups with India, Pakistan and a qualifying team in Group A and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan forming Group B. Each team plays the other once in the group stage with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Super 4 round.

The top 2 teams from Super 4 will qualify for the final.

Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan (UNI)