Dilip Vengsarkar, a former captain for the Indian national team, said the team’s current squad “won’t be missing anything” ahead of the Asia Cup 2022 opening.
“I would say that India has fantastic bench strength because if you see at IPL, they have discovered a lot of pace bowlers,” Vengsarkar said.
“There are plenty of options now as far as fast bowling and good spinners are concerned. I think we won’t be missing anybody [like Jasprit Bumrah] for that matter.”
Vengsarkar added that rookies Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan would “deliver” as they have “tremendous potential." According to Vengsarkar, Singh and Khan could bowl well during the India Premier League despite the tournament’s “high pressure”.
Singh has managed to collect nine wickets when playing six T20I matches for India, only conceding an average of 6.33 runs per match. He debuted in a match against England back in July. Meanwhile, Khan has picked up 11 wickets in the last 13 matches he participated in.
Regarding Virat Kohli’s inclusion in the squad, Vengsarkar hoped the cricketer would deliver a good performance during the Cup.
“Virat Kohli is one of the best players in world cricket and I am his huge fan,” Vengsarkar said. “Unfortunately, he hasn’t scored runs since the last IPL and has failed miserably. I think his lean patch is going far too long.”
Vengsarkar was also asked about Hardik Pandya and he said the player would play a “vital role” in the championship. The former cricketer added that Pandya is a “great allrounder” and currently is in good form.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also named KL Rahul as one of the squad members for the Asia Cup this year. Rahul recently returned from an injury that made him unable to play since May.
The Asia Cup is Rahul’s assignment after leading India to win over Zimbabwe in an ODI series. In that series, Rahul only managed to score 31 runs.
Danish Kaneria, the former Pakistani cricketer, said India should have sent Sanju Samson instead of Rahul to the Cup. Kaneria reasoned that Rahul just returned from “a big injury” and had to participate in two different events in a short time.
He added, “India have Sanju Samson type of a player who’s been doing so well. He is a fantastic cricketer and he’s been playing beautifully. Samson didn’t get consistent opportunities to play for team India.”
Samson participated in two matches during the Zimbabwe tour, scoring a total of 58 runs. In the second ODI match, he managed to make 43 runs off 39 balls.
According to Kaneria, India should have let Rahul recover his form fully before the T20I World Cup in Australia later this year. However, he noted that Rahul is “a big name” and the public would question BCCI if the veteran cricketer was not included in the Asia Cup’s squad.
India is scheduled to face Pakistan in a 20-over match on August 28 for the opening of the Asia Cup in Dubai. Previously, both national teams had practice sessions ahead of the match where Kohli was seen catching up with Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi who pulled out from the match after sustaining an injury.
