India named their squad for the Asia Cup this afternoon with a few surprises; the axing of opening batsman Virender Sehwag being the major news. Along with Sehwag, Fast bowlers Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav have been rested. Their are re-calls for allrounder Yusuf Pathan and Ashok Dinda, who conmes back after two years out.

There was major speculation that the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and captain Mahendra Dhoni will also sit out, but those rumours proved to be unfruitful. Sehwag's apparant 'rest' comes after he managed to score 143 runs in 7 innings in the current CB series in Australia.

Youngsters Manoj Tiwary and Rahul Sharma have been retained but there is no place for reserve keeper Parthiv Patel. Whilst Virat Kohli has been rewarded with is great form as the Vice Captain of the side.

India, the defending champions of the tournament, are in the tournament which starts on the 11th March in Bangladesh alongside hosts Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.