India named out-of-form star batsman Virat Kohli in their T20 squad for an Asia Cup campaign which begins later this month with a showdown against arch-rivals Pakistan.
Vice-captain K.L. Rahul also returns for the tournament in the UAE from August 27 to September 11 after missing all of India`s fixtures since the end of the Indian Premier League in May with Covid and injury.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was however ruled out with injury, national selectors said, naming a strong 15-man squad.
Bumrah, who is reported to be suffering from back spasms, is undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.
Three players -- Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar -- were named as standbys in the Asia Cup squad.
Kohli, 33, was rested for the recent tour of the West Indies and has not scored a century in any format since 2019. Last year he was replaced by Rohit Sharma as all-format skipper.
The last edition of the Asia Cup was a 50-over contest but this time the format will be Twenty20.
Defending champions India are the most successful team, having won the trophy on seven occasions.
India`s first match in the six-team competition is against Pakistan on August 28, seeking revenge for their defeat in the T20 World Cup last year.
India squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (captain), K.L. Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.
-20241117133242.jpg)
-20241118072524.jpg)