BCCI’s selection committee on Saturday (July 30) announced Team India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe, scheduled for next month.

Just like the recently held series against West Indies, Shikhar Dhawan will lead the Indian ODI team as star players such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested.

Following the Zimbabwe tour, India’s next assignment will be the Asia Cup 2022 and it will be a difficult task for the selection panel to pick a squad for the multi-nation tournament.

While the Asia Cup 2022 is slated to be held in UAE from August 27 to September 11, the deadline to announce the squad for the marquee event is August 8.

According to a Cricbuzz report, India’s Asia Cup squad will be nearly the same as the one that will fly to Australia for the T20 World Cup 2022 in October-November.

The six T20I matches against Australia and South Africa in September and October will reportedly feature the same set of players. Before the World Cup, the selectors want to provide the team management with a sufficient number of games to try out different combinations.

The report further says that the likes of Kohli, Bumrah, and KL Rahul, who are absent from the T20I side playing in the West Indies, will be available for the Asia Cup. The three players are missing the ongoing series in the Caribbean due to personal and health reasons.

KL Rahul was part of India’s T20I squad against West Indies initially but he returned COVID-19 and got ruled out of the entire series. He has still not fully recovered and, thus, wasn’t picked for the Zimbabwe tour. The right-hander is expected to be fit for the Asia Cup, which has been shifted to the UAE from Sri Lanka.

(With Cricbuzz inputs)