In a startling move, Rohit Sharma was appointed as the captain of the Indian side as the MSK-Prasad-led selection committee decided to rest regular captain Virat Kohli from the 16-member Asia Cup squad announced on Saturday in Mumbai.
The decision to rest Kohli was taken keeping the Indian skipper’s workload in mind. After a three-month-long England tour, India is slated to host West Indies and then travel to Australia immediately after that.
"Considering the workload, we have given him (Kohli) rest. He has been playing continuously for quite some time. He's on the road from the IPL. So that is why looking at the workload we have given him rest," Prasad said at a media conference.
The chairman said that all key players would be given rest and their workload closely monitored.
"I will like to tell that I have been there from the third test match (in England). We sat for a discussion regarding the workload management, so we need to preserve some of the precious players, who are playing in all three formats.
Veteran middle-order batsman Suresh Raina again lost his place in the side as Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey and Ambati Rayudu were rewarded for their consistent show in the Quadrangular series.
Rayudu's inclusion in the side was never in doubt after he had cleared the Yo-Yo test, which had ruled him out of the England tour. The right-hander scored a couple of valuable half-centuries for India A in the recently concluded Quadrangular series.
Manish Pandey was another direct beneficiary of the four-nation tournament, which his side India B won. Pandey amassed 306 runs in four matches without being dismissed that included an unbeaten 117 followed by a match-winning 73* against Australia A in the final. Pandey had lost his place in the Indian ODI side after failing to impress in the opportunities he got earlier.
29-year-old Rajsathan left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed earned his maiden India call-up to bolster the fast bowling department, which will be led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. Khaleel's inclusion has a lot to do with him being able to provide variety in the seam department. The selectors were desperate to find new option after Jaydev Unadkat and Barinder Sran didn't yield the desired results. Khaleel has been very impressive for India A, picking up 15 wickets in 9 matches.
"Yes there are 2-3 slots that we are yet to finalise. One is a left-arm seamer's slot where we are looking at Khaleel. So for those spots we will be trying and we will look at these 24 matches. As we move closer towards World Cup, you guys will come to know."
One of the heartbreaks could be opener Mayank Agarwal, who has scored more runs across formats than anybody in Indian domestic cricket and A team matches.
However, Prasad assured that his chance will come sooner than later. "Mayank Agarwal has been fantastic and has been consistent in the last 10-12 months. He is just a step away and I am sure in due course of time he will get his recognition," he said.
"And he did well In all three formats in whatever opportunities he has got in domestic cricket. We will definitely look at it when we rest some of the senior players," Prasad assured.
The Asia Cup, featuring India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and one qualifier will be played in Dubai between 15-28 September with India's first match being against the qualifier on September 18.
India's main test will, however, be against arch-rivals Pakistan (on September 19), against whom India might play three matches in the Asia Cup if both of them make it all the way to the final.
India Asia Cup Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, KL Rahul, Kedar Jadhav, Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Shardul Thakur