The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will announce the Indian squad for the Asia Cup 2018 on September 1. The meeting will be headed by the chairman of selectors MSK Prasad, Sarandeep Singh and Devang Gandhi who will gather at the BCCI headquarters at the Wankhede Stadium.
The Asia Cup this year will be held in the United Arab Emirates from September 15. Six teams will be participating in the same which are divided into two groups of three teams each. Group A will comprise of India, Pakistan and the team qualifying after winning the Qualifiers. While the Group B consists of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The teams playing in the qualifying round are UAE, Singapore, Oman, Nepal, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
The Indian squad is likely to have MS Dhoni as the primary wicket keeping option while Rishabh Pant will be used a reserved one. The youngster has impressed in the ongoing England- India test series which makes it difficult for the selectors to neglect him.
In the bowling department, India are likely to play five bowlers which will include three fast bowlers and two spinners in the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. Bhuvi is confirmed to make his return in international cricket after being declared fit by BCCI.
The first match of the tournament will be played between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. India, on the other hand, will begin their campaign against the winner of qualifiers on September 18.
