"The players who are likely to play in the World Cup should be in the team" - Abhishek Nayar defends KL Rahul's Asia Cup selection
Former India all-rounder Abhishek Nayar feels the Men in Blue did the right thing by keeping KL Rahul in the Asia Cup squad despite the latter still to recover completely from his injury.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar, during an interaction with reporters, had claimed that Rahul had a niggle and might not be available for the first game of the Asia Cup. This led to a question for many as to why Sanju Samson was a traveling reserve, with Rahul not completely fit.
Speaking to timesofindia.com, here's what Abhishek Nayar had to say about the KL Rahul situation:
"KL has a niggle but he is in the squad. You want to give him game time and enough matches to build up. The players who are likely to play in the World Cup should be in the team.
"Sanju has been playing in the West Indies and Ireland which is great, but with KL coming back from an injury, you have to give him enough game time before the World Cup."
Rahul Dravid provides massive update on KL Rahul's fitness
India head coach Rahul Dravid, meanwhile, has confirmed that Rahul will not be available for their first two Asia Cup fixtures to be played in Kandy. The BCCI also posted an update on social media about the same, stating:
“KL Rahul is progressing really well but will not be available for India’s first two matches – against Pakistan and Nepal – of the Asia Cup: Head Coach Rahul Dravid."
It will be interesting to see whether India make several changes in their batting order to fit wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan at the top. They could also just put Ishan in the middle order in Rahul's place, but it is a position where the southpaw has struggled in the past.
India's Asia Cup 2023 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (travelling reserve).