After six and a half years, the Asia Cup makes a comeback in its authentic slam-bang Twenty20 form. For obvious reasons, the competition is very important to the five Asian teams who will compete in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia from October 16 to November 13. These teams are India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The five teams that will be joined by a team from each of the following countries: Kuwait, Singapore, Hong Kong, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and Oman will draw the most attention during the continental tournament.
Read more: Asia Cup 2022 Qualifier: UAE Beats Singapore
Both Jasprit Bumrah, India’s spearhead, and seamer Harshal Patel will miss the competition due to ailments of an unspecified origin, according to the BCCI press statement.
Since his T20 debut against Australia in Melbourne six and a half years ago, Bumrah has played in 58 international matches in the game’s shortest format, collecting 69 wickets at an average of 19.46 and a strike rate of 18.07. It is obvious that Rohit would be without his top bowler during the power play and later in the innings. Before the ICC tournament in the Southern Hemisphere, Bumrah played in the domestic white ball series against Australia and South Africa.
Bumrah and Patel are not available, so skipper Rohit Sharma must manage his fast and seam bowling options with the help of Bhuvneshkumar, rookies Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh, and Hardik Pandya, who has worked hard to recover from a fragile lower back that kept him out of action for several months following last year’s World Cup in the UAE.
Read more: Asia cup schedule
After two great seasons in the IPL, left-arm seamer Arshdeep has seized opportunities with both hands for India. He has been somewhat of a find, bowling 20.4 overs and picking up nine wickets in six games (five against the West Indies and one against England at the Rose Bowl last month).
The three specialist spinners that the selectors have given Rohit to choose from are the off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the inexperienced leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi, and the seasoned leg spinner Yuzvendtra Chahal. Additionally, Sharma has the choice of using the full four overs allotted to Ravindra Jadeja as well as off-break bowler Deepak Hooda.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel and seamer Deepak Chahar, who is making a strong start in his comeback match against Zimbabwe, are two of the three standbys. If a chance presents itself in the UAE, the team management won’t think twice about fielding him. Chahar is currently vying for a spot in the World Cup.
