Asia Cup 2023: Four India stars who are set to haunt Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

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The Asia Cup 2023 is set to begin from August 30. India, the most successful team in the history of the tournament, have named a strong 17-member squad for the continental showpiece event which they have won seven times.

The likes of KL Rahul and Shreyas are making their ODI comeback after a long injury layoff. Jasprit Bumrah, who made his comeback to international cricket after almost a one-year gap with the Ireland T20Is earlier this month, is set to play his first ODI match since July 14, 2022.

The team is full of match-winners but eyes will be on following four players who are expected to haunt Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal a run for their money.

Virat Kohli: The former India captain will again be the key man and the Indian batting is expected to revolve around it. The star batter smashed his much-awaited 71st ODI hundred during the last Asia Cup in 2022 and since then has piled up five more hundreds to take his tally of international hundreds to 76. His 71st hundred came after a long gap of almost three years.

The slow and spin-friendly surface in Sri Lanka would not be easy to bat on and Kohli's experience would be key to India's success. Kohli has played a total of 23 ODI matches in Sri Lanka and scored 899 runs at an average of 47.31 and a strike rate of 85.94. Four hundreds have come off his bat in the island nation.

The ODI format of Asia Cup has seen him score 613 runs at an average of 61.30. The right-hand batter would be preparing for the upcoming World Cup 2023 with his outings in the Asia Cup. Kohli in beast mode is expected in the tournament.

Shreyas Iyer: The middle-order conundrum has been a topic of discussion for India again ahead of a World Cup. Long injury layoffs of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul gave management major headaches but the duo is back.

Iyer's success at number four would be key to India not only in the Asia Cup 2023 but also the World Cup 2023. Iyer unluckily missed out on the 2021 T20 World cup due to injury and was named in the standby list for the T20 World Cup 2022.

Having recovered on time, Iyer would be leaving nothing to luck this time around. His selection in India's World Cup squad is certain but his past experiences would push him to not take anything for granted. Considered one of the best white-ball batters in the country, Iyer would be raring to make his mark in the Asia Cup 2023. A lot of grit and determination is expected from the Mumbai batter who has scored 1631 runs in 42 ODIs at an average of 46.60 and a strike rate of 96.50.

Jasprit Bumrah: The pacer made his return from injury after almost a year gap earlier this month in the T20I series against Ireland. He led the side from the front and picked two wickets in the first over of the first T20I. He followed it up with two more wickets in the second T20I.

After making a successful comeback from injury, Bumrah would now be playing his first ODI since July 2022. Bumrah comes hungry in the tournament. Many thought his career was over due to his recurring lower back injury and now he stands on cusp of playing his second World Cup for India.

LIke Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, a slow and dead pitch is no concern for Bumrah due to his ability to breathe fire on any surface. The toe-crushing yorkers, short balls, slower ones and cutters would be on display against the top teams for Asia who are expected to come up with dedicated plans to tackle the threat for him. The 72 ODI matches have seen him pick 121 wickets at an average of 24.30 and an economy rate of 4.63.

Kuldeep Yadav: Being the only specialist spinner in the 17-member squad means something. The chinaman bowler has pipped his good friend and senior Yuzvendra Chahal for the spot. The left-arm wrist spinner has been in top form lately and is expected to do wonders on the Sri Lankan surface.

In the recently concluded white-ball matches against West Indies, he picked seven wickets from three ODIs at an average of 8.71. He finished the ODI leg as the second-highest wicket-taker. In the ODI series, he picked six wickets at an average of 15.33.

The 28-year-old was almost written off two years ago. Extremely low on confidence, he was also dropped from the team. Kuldeep wasn't picked for the T20 World Cup in 2021 and 2022. He also missed out on a berth in India's Asia Cup squad in 2022.

Cut to 2023, he is certain of being India's first-choice spinner at the 2023 World Cup. He looks set to win India matches in subcontinent conditions in the next three months. His 84 ODI outings till date have seen him score 141 runs at an average of 26.55 and an economy rate of 5.16.