“Hardwork and consistency pays rich dividends” is a mantra that Virat Kohli would believe in. The star batsman was rewarded for his consistent performances over the past couple of years as he was elevated to the Vice-captaincy post in the absence of Virender Sehwag, who was apparently rested for the Asia Cup that begins from the 11th of March.
Kohli named vice-captain for Asia Cup
Sachin Tendulkar, who was widely tipped to be rested for the tournament, has been picked while Zaheer Khan has been advised rest as India look to defend their crown in the four nation tournament. Also not picked was Umesh Yadav while Parthiv Patel was dropped as India trimmed their squad to 15 members for the tournament which would be played in Mirpur.
Since his record breaking 219 against the West Indies, Virender Sehwag averages a lowly 13 from his five innings in the ongoing Commonwealth Bank series and has had troubles with his back and hence it comes as no surprise that the selectors decided to look elsewhere for the tournament. On the other hand, Virat Kohli, who is the leading scorer in Commonwealth Bank series and is being tipped as a future captain, was rewarded with the responsibility of the vice-captain tag.
The exclusion of Zaheer and Umesh Yadav also gave the selectors to pick Ashok Dinda, who played in the previous edition of the Asia Cup on the basis of his domestic performances, where he picked up 37 wickets in six matches. Despite not getting much of an opportunity Down Under, Manoj Tewary and Rahul Sharma retained their places while Yusuf Pathan was picked as a all-rounder along with Ravindra Jadeja and brother Irfan.
Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina retained their places in the middle order while Ajinkya Rahane was again overlooked as India begin their title defence on March 13th at Dhaka against Sri Lanka.
Tags: Asia Cup, Asia Cup 2012, Cricket, India, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan
