India's 13-member squad for the second Test announced
Ahead of the Perth Test match starting tomorrow, Indian Cricket team has been dealt a major blow as Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma have been ruled out due to injuries. A great bowling performance and brilliant innings by Pujara helped India register 31-run win over Australia in the first Test match played in Adelaide Oval last week.
KL Rahul and Murali Vijay will get a chance to open the innings again. Both players would be looking to give a solid start to the Indian team. The Man of the Match performer from the Adelaide Test match, Cheteshwar Pujara, will come at number 3, Indian Captain Virat Kohli at number 4, Rahane who scored 70 runs in the second innings in Adelaide comes at number 5.
Hanuma Vihari is likely to replace the injured Rohit Sharma in the XI. The wicketkeeping job will be done by Rishabh Pant who performed well as a wicketkeeper in the first Test match in Adelaide.
The other all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is added to the preliminary squad at the expense of an injured Ravichandran Ashwin, who picked six wickets in the first Test match in Adelaide.
In the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav have been included in the 13-member squad.
The Indian Cricket Team have taken a 1-0 lead after a 31-run win over Australia in the first Test match in Adelaide. If the conditions help the pacers, then India might be promoted to go with four pace bowlers.
Ravindra Jadeja would be an ideal replacement for Ravichandran Ashwin if they want to go in with a frontline spinner. With India leading 1-0 in the series, they have a good chance of putting pressure on the Australian team and take a 2-0 lead.
Here we look at India’s 13-man squad for the second Test match.
Squad: KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.