Kohli, KL Rahul back in India squad for Asia Cup, Iyer relegated to standby list

Rahul, who did not feature in the T20 series against West Indies due to COVID-19, has recuperated from sports hernia surgery and is back as vice-captain.

New Delhi:Former skipper Virat Kohli and a fit-again vice-captain KL Rahul were back in the 15-member Indian squad for the Asia Cup while senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah missed out owing to back injury.

Rahul, who did not feature in the T20 series against West Indies due to COVID-19, has recuperated from sports hernia surgery and is back as vice-captain. The notable names dropped from the main squad are batter Shreyas Iyer and left-arm spinner Axar Patel. Seamer Deepak Chahar, who has had a four month lay-off due to hamstring tear and back injury was also among reserves.

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The other absentee from the squad is pacer Harshal Patel owing to rib injury. "Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel were not available for selection owing to injuries. They are currently undergoing rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru," the BCCI said on Twitter.

India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, R Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Y Chahal, R Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.

PTI