Indian Talisman batter Virat Kohli and opener KL Rahul returned to T20Is on Monday as part of the 15-man squad for the Asia Cup 2022.

However, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will be unable to compete due to a back injury. Harshal Patel will also be absent due to a rib injury.

Bumrah did not tour the West Indies following the conclusion of his trip to England on July 17, and he was rested for the upcoming ODI series in Zimbabwe.

“Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel were not available for selection owing to injuries. They are currently undergoing rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru,” said the BCCI in a statement.

Arshdeep Singh, a young left-arm pacer, has kept his place in the team after impressing during the T20I series against the West Indies, where he was named ‘Player of the Series.’

#TeamIndia squad for Asia Cup 2022 – Rohit Sharma (Capt ), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, R Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Y Chahal, R Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 8, 2022

Kohli, who has been out for a while, returns to the side after missing the India tour of England in July and being rested for the white-ball tour of the West Indies and the upcoming ODIs against Zimbabwe.

Rahul also returns after missing the T20I series against South Africa at home due to a groin injury. He then had sports hernia surgery in Germany, which forced him to miss the England tour.

Rahul was supposed to return during India’s T20I series against the West Indies, but a positive Covid-19 test before the tour meant he didn’t make the trip to the Caribbean.

Yuzvendra Chahal, who was rested for the five-match T20I series against the West Indies, also returns to the squad, while Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan were not included.

Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, and Axar Patel have also been named as backup players for the Asia Cup 2022.

The Asia Cup 2022 will be held in the United Arab Emirates from August 27 to September 11. The tournament’s 15th edition will feature six teams, including a qualifier team.

India is the defending champion as well as the most successful team, having won the trophy seven times. On August 28, they will begin their title defence against Pakistan. The two teams are all set to re ignite their rivalries in the Asian tournament and can face each other in more than one occasion as well.

While the previous tournament was played in ODI format, this year’s tournament will be played in T20 format due to 2022 being a T20 World Cup year.

Group A includes India, Pakistan, and a qualifying team, while Group B includes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

In the group stage, each team plays the other once, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Super 4 round. The top two teams from the Super 4 will advance to the final.

India’s squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan

Stand-bys: Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar

(Inputs from IANS)