The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the squad for the first two Test matches against England starting January 25. Rohit Sharma, who recently captained India in the two-match Test series in South Africa, will continue to lead the side against Ben Stokes and Co.
Young wicketkeeper batter Dhruv Jurel got his maiden India call-up as he got picked as a wicketkeeper alongside KL Rahul and KS Bharat.
Rahul had donned the big gloves in the two Test matches against South Africa with a fair amount of success.
But it is unlikely that the Bengaluru-man could continue in the role against England as India are certain to field three spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar, a move that warrants a specialist behind the stumps.
The All India Selection Committee retained the core team as Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer continue to retain their place in the side despite an underwhelming show on the Proteas tour.
Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah was picked for the role of Rohit’s deputy once again.
Meanwhile, Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur failed to make the cut for the squad after their poor show against South Africa.
Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace attack and will be accompanied by Mohammed Siraj, Avesg Khan and Mukesh Kumar, while Mohammed Shami missed out due to his ankle injury.
In the spin-bowling department, India picked four options – Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.
Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored a fine double century for Saurashtra in Ranji Trophy, failed to make a comeback in the Test squad.
The five-match Test series against England is going to be extremely crucial for India in their bid for the World Test Championship.
