BCCI on Saturday, announced India’s squad for the remaining three Tests against England. Virat Kohli, expectedly was not named in the squad for the three Tests in Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala. “Virat Kohli will remain unavailable for selection for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons. The Board fully respects and supports Kohli’s decision,” BCCI said in a release.
As reported earlier, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have been named subject to fitness clearance. Pacer Mohammed Siraj also returns to the side after being rested from the second Test. Rahul was out with a quadriceps injury while Jadeja had hurt his hamstring while going for a single in India’s second innings of the Hyderabad Test.
“The participation of Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul is subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI medical team,” BCCI added.
No Shreyas Iyer; Akash Deep included in place of Avesh Khan
Sarfaraz Khan, who was drafted into the squad as a replacement for Rahul in the second Test, has retained his place, while Rajat Patidar also continues to be a part of the squad after Shreyas Iyer was not named in the 17-member squad. Interestingly, there was no mention of Iyer’s back injury in the BCCI press release.
The right-hander had reportedly complained of having issues with his back and groin after the second Test.
The only other notable change apart from the absence of Iyer is the inclusion of Bengal pacer Akash Deep in place of Avesh Khan. The latter has been released to play in the Ranji Trophy. The selectors want to give exposure to Akash Deep to help him get ready for the future.
Pacer Mohammed Shami is yet to recover from the ankle injury and was not considered for selection.
There were reports of Bumrah being rested for the final two Tests but the selectors have named him as vice-captain for all the remaining matches.
The 10-day break that he got after putting up a lion-hearted effort in Visakhapatnam, is believed to have played a big role in his retention. However, Bumrah will likely be rested from the fourth Test in Dharamsala irrespective of the result in Rajkot.
Despite his poor returns with the bat and the average show with the gloves in the 7 Tests that he has played, the selectors decided to keep faith in KS Bharat. He is likely to start as India’s keeper in Rajkot. However, if he doesn’t utilise this opportunity then doors might open for Dhruv Jurel in the last two Tests of the series.
India squad for remaining 3 Tests vs England: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul*, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep
The third Test will commence on February 15 in Rajkot while the fourth Test kickstarts in Ranchi from February 23. The fifth and final Test of the series will be played in Dharamsala on March 07.
After losing the series opener in Hyderabad despite taking a mammoth 190-run lead, India made a strong comeback in Visakhapatnam, winning the match by 106 runs to level the five-match series 1-1.
