New Delhi: The BCCI’s Senior National Selection Committee yesterday announced the Indian squads for the Australia tour, comprising fours Tests, three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and as many Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).
India’s limited-overs Vice- Captain Rohit Sharma, who is currently battling with a hamstring injury, has not been picked in any of the three squads, with BCCI saying that their medical team will continue to monitor his progress. Another notable name missing from the Test squad is veteran fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who was ruled out of the IPL with a rib injury. The BCCI’s medical team will also keep track of his progress.
K.L. Rahul, who is having a dream run in the ongoing IPL 2020, has replaced Rohit in the longest format. The Kings XI Punjab skipper has also been handed the leadership responsibility for the first time in his international career, as he has appointed as Kohli’s deputy in both ODI and T20I squads.
Royal Challengers Bangalore fast-bowling duo of Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj have been rewarded for their impressive performances with a place in the red-ball squad. Kolkata Knight Riders’ mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who became the first bowler to pick up a five-wicket haul in the IPL 2020, has earned a maiden call-up to the Indian team, with a place in the shortest format squad.
Interestingly, Rishabh Pant is not part of the limiter-overs squad, with Sanju Samson included as a backup keeper in the shortest format, while K.L. Rahul included as the lone wicket-keeper in ODI side.
Chennai Super Kings fast bowler Deepak Chahar has also made a comeback to the T20I side. The BCCI also announced that four additional fast bowlers — Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kartik Tyagi, Ishan Porel and T. Natarajan — will be travelling with the Indian contingent.
Test squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, K.L. Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (Vice-Captain), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (Wicket-Keeper), Rishabh Pant (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Uesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Siraj.
ODI squad: Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, K.L. Rahul (VC/WK), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini & Shardul Thakur.
T20I squad: Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, K.L. Rahul (VC/WK), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar & Varun Chakravarthy.
This post was published on October 27, 2020 4:40 pm