3 players instead of Akash Deep who could've replaced Shivam Mavi in India's Asian Games 2023 squad
The World Cup 2023 will be at the forefront of Team India's priorities in the upcoming two months, but the Asian Games 2023 won't be too far behind.
With the Men in Blue getting a rather rare chance to clinch some gold at a multi-nation event, they will be keen on furthering their impression on the global stage. Ruturaj Gaikwad will captain the national side for the first time at the Asian Games, with them naming a young squad brimming with talent.
India recently made a forced change to their squad after Shivam Mavi suffered a "freak" rib injury, replacing the youngster with Akash Deep. However, the decision was rather strange, with several players in the mix who could've been better options than the Bengal seamer.
Team India's men's squad for the 19th Asian Games: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Akash Deep.
Here are three players who could've replaced Shivam Mavi in India's Asian Games 2023 squad instead of Akash Deep.
#3 Harshit Rana
Harshit Rana has already been fast-tracked into the Indian setup, having played the Emerging Asia Cup earlier this year. He picked up seven wickets in five matches at an economy rate of 5.5 as his team lost to Pakistan in the final.
There's a reason why India have turned their attention to the youngster. He bowled at a good clip and hit the deck hard while playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). The 21-year-old has also displayed some big-hitting in domestic cricket across formats.
India's pace-bowling reserves aren't great right now, especially from the younger generation. Rana is one of the few to have made a mark early while managing to stay fairly injury-free and should be backed.
#2 Umran Malik
Umran Malik has fallen off the radar slightly, even though he has barely had a string of games to improve and nail down a spot. After dropping out of the ODI picture, the fast bowler wasn't picked in the Asian Games squad either.
India's opponents might not be used to a player who can bowl at Umran's pace, and he would've been an interesting choice to replace Mavi. The 23-year-old is someone who has been around the first-choice national side for a while now and just needs some more exposure and game time before he can become an outright match-winner.
Umran would've definitely been a better option than Akash Deep, who is nowhere in the picture for the senior team.
#1 Yash Thakur
What's the point of having a player in the standbys if they're not going to be called up when a vacancy is created in the main squad? That's just what has happened to Yash Thakur, who was named to the reserves and still finds himself there despite Mavi's injury.
Thakur had a breakthrough IPL season for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), where he displayed his skills, variations and composure under pressure. He also has an impressive T20 record, with 68 scalps in 46 matches at an economy rate of 7.19.
Perhaps Thakur is injured, but he's still part of the standbys even after India replaced Mavi with Akash Deep. There's not much of a point in having reserve players, then, and he can consider himself unfortunate to have missed out on the chance to become Mavi's replacement.