Asia Cup 2010: India Squad Players List

Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan have been excluded from the 15-man squad that Indian selectors announced for the upcoming Asia Cup in Sri Lanka from June 15 to 24.

Indian squad for Asia Cup: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Ashok Dinda, R. Ashwin, Saurabh Tiwary.

India’s most prolific batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, has been omitted from the squad that will play against Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the four-nation Asia Cup.

He wanted a break to spend time with his family members and that is why he asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) not to consider him for the ODI tournament. His omission from the ODI squad that will tour Sri Lanka was confirmed by the board secretary, N. Srinivasan. It will put Indian cricket team under huge pressure. No doubt, selectors will have to find a best replacement in stead of him, but there will be no one who can replace the veteran player.

Before the team was announced, news came out that Sachin Tendulkar might skip the event, but the selectors were not serious in their work. What they could do is that they might have convinced the batsman. However, they didn’t do it. Sachin Tendulkar’s refusal to tour to Sri Lanka has come as a great shock. Even it was more shocking then his decision not to represent India in Twenty20 internationals.

It has been a long time that he has not played for India. On 24^th February 2010, he played his last ODI match against South Africa at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium where he made a record of unbeaten double century and became the only player to hold such a record in the history of ODI cricket.

The inclusion of regular captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Virender Sehwag will increase the power of Indian cricket team. Virender Sehwag could not play the recently concluded Twenty20 World Cup in West Indies due to his shoulder injury that he sustained during third edition of IPL. Inclusion of Virender Sehwag will boost the confidence of the team. He will make open along with Gautam Gambhir.

Cricket fans will be happy for the return of Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain. He will lead the Indian cricket team in this tournament. He has not been in the good form and has been struggling to get back his previous form. Though Dhoni has been criticized for his poor captaincy during the Twenty20 World Cup 2010, he is still considered as one of the best captains India ever had. It is expected that MS Dhoni will lead India successfully and bring another trophy for country.

The players who were rested for the tri-series in Zimbabwe have been included in the squad. Selectors have also included some players who are not regular cricketers but considered better performers. As the players were rested, the team will come out with a bunch of strong and power players.

Gautam Gambhir is one of the players who were rested for the tri-series in Zimbabwe. Gambhir is now in good form. His opening partnership with the unstoppable Virender Sehwag will help India to get the winning streak.

Harbhajan Singh is expected to make his return with his spin magic. He is passionately waiting to use his spin magic against the opponent teams in the upcoming Asia Cup. He is the only spinner who has the experience to play more matches for Indian team.

Pace trio of Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra will be the main bowling power for India. They will try hard to prove their opponents that they still have some power and strength to show.

Despite being an important figure in the ODI format of cricket game, Yuvraj Singh, failed to make his place in the ODI tour. The dropping of Yuvraj Singh was not unexpected as his performances in recent months were not satisfactory. Yuvraj Singh got involved in a brawl in a West Indian pub and it came as an extra addition for the reason of his exclusion from the squad. Now, selectors will replace Yuvraj Singh by a suitable player who can play like him with the bat and ball.

Yuvraj Singh played five ODI matches this year and scored 96 runs where 74 of them coming in one match against Sri Lanka in Dhaka.

Yusuf Pathan was one of the experienced players who traveled Zimbabwe to play the tri-nation series. His performance was not good either. He could not play an important role for his team when his service was needed.

Twenty-year-old player, Saurabh Tiwary, is the only uncapped player who is likely to make his debut in this forthcoming tournament. He plays for Mumbai Indians. His impressive effort for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League forced the selectors to call him in the main squad.

The second-string Indian squad has been formed by the players who performed well in IPL 3. Despite their good performance in IPL, they could not lead India to a victory. It would be better if the selectors do not select anyone with poor performance in domestic cricket.

Some players who were included in the second-string Indian squad could make their place despite showing poor performance. Selectors kept faith on them and it is also expected that they will be the big asset for team India.

Suresh Raina led the second-string Indian squad in the recently concluded tri-series in Zimbabwe and failed to get success as India could not play in the final match. India lost twice against host team, Zimbabwe, and once against Sri Lanka. Their disappointing performance dropped India from number two position to third in the ICC ODI team ranking.

According to the chairman of Indian selectors, Kris Srikkanth, a lot of importance was given to the players’ fitness. In his statement, it has been cleared that both fitness and fielding are very important.

Asia Cup will be a big challenge for Indian cricket team as their performance in the Twenty20 World Cup was not good. They got eliminated from the second round. This upcoming tournament will give them a chance to prove that they are still a strong team in any format of cricket.