5 Indian cricketers who were part of Asia Cup 2022 but are now nowhere in the scene ft. Ravichandran Ashwin
India's squad for the Asia Cup 2023 was announced on Monday, August 21, with captain Rohit Sharma and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar addressing a press conference.
A 17-member heavy contingent will head to Sri Lanka for the tournament with an eye on the ODI World Cup at home which is set to commence on October 5. Apart from the 17 players named, Sanju Samson will tour with the squad as the backup wicketkeeper.
The last time the Asia Cup was played in the 50-over format was back in 2018 when India reigned supreme with a last-ball win in the final against Bangladesh. The previous edition in 2022 was played in the shortest format, serving as a build-up to the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Some of the usual suspects from the Indian team that played the Asia Cup last year will turn out this time around as well - from skipper Rohit to veteran Virat Kohli, as well as Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, and Hardik Pandya among others.
However, there are some members of that squad who won't be part of this year's edition of the Asia Cup despite the formats being different.
Let's look at five such Indian players who were a part of the Asia Cup 2022 but are nowhere near the white-ball setup currently.
#1 Deepak Hooda
Deepak Hooda's international career is at a crossroads at this point and there are no two ways about it. Viewed as the solution to India's sixth bowler problem, he often found himself batting out of position after bolting into the mix on the back of a century in Ireland.
There were numerous instances where he was thrust into the role of a finisher and he clearly looked like a fish out of water. Hooda's Asia Cup 2022 campaign didn't make for great reading - he got to bat twice in three matches, scoring just 19 runs while sending down a solitary over.
Thereafter, things took a nosedive as he played a lone match at the T20 World Cup, registering a duck on a spicy Perth pitch against South Africa. A string of poor scores culminated with a forgettable IPL 2023 campaign, resulting in him being discarded from the national setup.
#2 Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar might have struggled in the death overs of Asia Cup 2022, but he finished atop the wicket-taking charts with 11 scalps. He capped off the tournament with sensational returns of 5/4 against Afghanistan while his overall economy rate read 6.45.
Bhuvneshwar continued to lead India's pace bowling unit at the T20 World Cup in Jasprit Bumrah's absence. However, post the tour of New Zealand, he hasn't played a game yet with the management moving on to younger options.
It's worth mentioning that Bhuvneshwar's last ODI came in January 2022 with his struggles in South Africa seeing him dropped from the playing XI altogether.
While he remains a big part of the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL, it's hard to see how he can break into the Indian setup for the 2023 World Cup.
#3 Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin pipped Yuzvendra Chahal as India's first-choice spinner for the T20 World Cup. He played just two matches in Asia Cup 2022 though, picking up as many wickets at an economy rate of 7.37.
He picked up six wickets from as many matches at the T20 World Cup with his economy rate reading 8.15. After India's drubbing at the hands of England in the semifinal though, he is yet to play another white-ball international even as he remains the frontline spinner in the Test setup.
Much like Bhuvneshwar, Ashwin last played an ODI in South Africa at the start of 2022. At the press conference where the Asia Cup squad was announced, Rohit Sharma mentioned that the door is not shut on Ashwin.
But with the squad taking shape, it's hard to see how he can possibly break into the mix at the last minute even accounting for the off-spinning variety he brings.
#4 Deepak Chahar
Deepak Chahar was not a first-choice pick for the Asia Cup last year and was an afterthought owing to Avesh Khan being ruled out with an illness. He played a lone game against Afghanistan, sending down four wicketless overs.
After a good display in the T20s at home against South Africa, Chahar was named as one of the reserves for the T20 World Cup before a back injury ruled him out of the tournament. He featured in a couple of ODIs apiece in New Zealand and Bangladesh, limping off the field in the last of those as it summed up his unfortunate tryst with injuries.
In fact, a hamstring injury forced him to miss a decent number of games at IPL 2023 as well.
It's a different story that Chahar returned as Chennai Super Kings' crucial wicket-taking force in the powerplay as they went on to clinch their fifth title.
But at this point, he seems well below the pecking order of the Indian selectors and isn't close to the ODI or T20 setups.
#5 Dinesh Karthik
On the back of a stunning campaign for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2022, Dinesh Karthik stormed back into the reckoning of India's T20I setup. His last ODI was the fateful semifinal of the 2019 World Cup but he earned a fresh lease of life owing to his tremendous form as a finisher.
Karthik grabbed his chances with both hands, even pipping Rishabh Pant to the bench. Ravindra Jadeja's injury at the Asia Cup 2022 forced India to bring Pant back for the need of a left-handed batter, confining Karthik to the bench.
Karthik faced a solitary delivery in the tournament - and bowled six of them - but was the first-choice wicket-keeper at the T20 World Cup. He failed to leave a mark though and was dropped prior to the team's final Super 12 fixture against Zimbabwe.
He hasn't played since then and on the back of a forgettable IPL 2023 campaign, the horse might have just bolted for the 38-year-old veteran.
Have India picked the best possible combination for Asia Cup 2023? Have your say in the comments section below!
Also read: 3 reasons why India must not play Shivam Dube as a finisher in T20Is