Kuldeep, Rishabh In but Rohit Dropped From Test Squad vs England

After foxing the batsmen in limited-overs series, Kuldeep Yadav has been picked in the Indian Test squad vs England

Kuldeep Yadav has made a comeback into the Indian test squad for the Test series against England

(Photo: AP)

BCCI has announced an 18-member squad for the first three Tests against England.

The five match Test series starts on 1 August and the most notable addition to the team is Kuldeep Yadav who last played in whites during India’s tour of Sri Lanka in August 2017. However, during the recently concluded T20 and ODI series against England, the young Chinaman bowler has been the most affective bowler in Virat Kohli’s arsenal.

Another new name is Rishabh Pant who’s been picked for the wicket-keeper’s slot in Wriddhiman Saha’s absence. Also picked to serve behind the stumps is Dinesh Karthik. Saha injured his finger during the IPL.

The one big name missing from the team announced by BCCI on Wednesday is Rohit Sharma who featured in two Tests during the tour of South Africa earlier this year. With no half centuries to his name, he managed to score 78 in four innings. However, during the current tour of England, Sharma scored two centuries, one each in the one-day and T20 format.

Shami, who was dropped from the lone Test match against Afghanistan for failing a fitness test, made his way back to the team after clearing the mandatory yo-yo test.

Full Squad For First 3 Tests

1. Virat Kohli (Captain)
2. Shikhar Dhawan
3. KL Rahul
4. M Vijay
5. Cheteshwar Pujara
6. Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain)
7. Karun Nair
8. Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper)
9. Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper)
10. R Ashwin
11. Ravindra Jadeja
12. Kuldeep Yadav
13. Hardik Pandya
14. Ishant Sharma
15. Mohd. Shami
16. Umesh Yadav
17. Jasprit Bumrah
18. Shardul Thakur

Along with the official squad announcement, the BCCI release also stated that pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar had aggrevated a lower back condition during the ODI series decider in Leeds on Tuesday and was being looked at by the board’s medical team. A final call on his fitness will be made soon.

Jasprit Bumrah who has been included in the squad, will be available for selection from the 2nd Test onwards based on his fitness.