• Source:JND
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BCCI on Monday announced the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup in the presence of Indian captain Rohit Sharma and chairman of the selection committee Ajit Agarkar in Delhi.

The 17-member squad looked quite balanced with a few surprises over inclusion and exclusion of players.

One of the main talking points emerged out as Sanju Samson getting a place in the squad but only as a stand-by player.

Tilak Varma who recently made his international debut for the Men in Blue has been included in the squad while Ishan Kishan is the backup wicketkeeper chosen in the team.

Samson scored 51 runs in the two ODIs and 32 runs in the three innings of the five-match T20I series on the West Indies tour. He scored 40 runs in just 26 balls in the second T20I match against Ireland in Dublin on Sunday.

Sanju was seen as overlooked by the selectors for a long while even after his performances in the IPL which seems to be one of the parameters to get fit in the squad nowadays.

He finally made it into the West Indies tour followed by the inclusion for Ireland series as well but couldn't find a place in the team for the marquee event.

Tilak hasn't made his debut for India in the ODIs as he received his maiden call-up.

The left-handed batter impressed with his batting in his debut T20I series against the West Indies. He scored 173 runs in five innings with an excellent average of 57.67 and a strike rate of 140.65.

 

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However, the 20-year-old batter failed to make an impact with the bat in the ongoing three-match T20I series against Ireland. The batter registered scores of 0 and 1 in the first two games. The selectors and team management backed him and roped him into the ODI setup.

KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer have been selected in the squad for the Asia Cup after recovering in time from a thigh and back injury respectively.

Fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna, who made their international comebacks during the ongoing T20I series in Ireland after recovering from back surgeries, have also been selected.

 

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"We've picked these 18 guys, [World Cup squad] it'll be in and around these guys," Agarkar said. "Few important guys coming back from injury, hopefully, all goes well with them. They have a few games now at the Asia Cup. There's a short camp followed by a couple of games before we announce the World Cup squad, but it's quite obvious it'll be around these guys," Agarkar said in the press conference.

 

Here are some reactions to Sanju Samson's exclusion from the team.

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