3 takeaways from India's squad for 3 Tests vs England
BCCI announced India's squad for the remaining three Tests against England on February 12. There were some big changes made to the team that won the Vizag Test match.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and wicketkeeper KL Rahul returned to the squad, but their availability is subject to their fitness tests. Rahul has already been ruled out of the third Test, with Devdutt Padikkal taking his place.
New faces Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar and Dhruv Jurel retained their places in the squad, whereas experienced batter Shreyas Iyer was left out. Here is the Indian squad:
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep.
The third Test of the series starts on Thursday, February 15, in Rajkot. Ahead of that, here's a look at the three major takeaways from India's squad for the remainder of the series.
#1 Akash Deep comes in for Avesh Khan
Avesh Khan was named in India's squad for the first two Tests but he was released to play Ranji Trophy as the team management did not pick him in the playing XI. Now, the selectors have ignored Khan for the remainder of the series.
Fast bowler Akash Deep has taken his place and is in line to make his Test debut. Deep was in fine form during the recent unofficial Test matches against England Lions, where he recorded two four-wicket hauls in two matches.
#2 Sourabh Kumar and Shreyas Iyer dropped, KS Bharat survives
All-rounder Sourabh Kumar was a last-minute addition to the Indian squad for the second Test against England in Vizag. The selectors added Kumar, Washington Sundar and Sarfaraz Khan to the squad after injuries to KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja.
Sundar and Khan have retained their places in the team but Kumar has been left out. Even Shreyas Iyer has been dropped. Some reports claimed that Iyer was facing back issues, but another report surfaced claiming he was dropped due to poor form.
Wicketkeeper KS Bharat has not been impressive with the bat in this series. However, the team management has backed him for the next three matches.
#3 Virat Kohli set to miss his 1st Test series for India in 13 years
For the first time in 13 years, star Indian batter Virat Kohli will miss an entire Test series. Kohli has always maintained that Test format is his favorite and the fact that he did not miss an entire series in the last 13 years shows how much he loves the purest format of the game.
However, due to personal reasons, Kohli continues to be unavailable for selection. The BCCI stated in their press release that the board fully respects Kohli's decision. In his absence, Rajat Patidar may get more chances to showcase his talent.