India squad for the Sri Lanka series announced: Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul included, Karun Nair dropped
The Indian team for the Test series against Sri Lanka has been announced.
Karun Nair has been axed from the squad which took on Australia while Rohit Sharma has been included in the side.
Nair entered record books when he scored a triple century against England in Chennai, but his form only went downhill from there on and hence this snub was not unexpected. He has been appointed the captain of the India A squad which will travel to South Africa for the Test series.
Ajinkya Rahane will be the vice-captain of the side.
Kuldeep Yadav has been named the third spinner in the squad along with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Abhinav Mukund continues to be the third opener in the squad. KL Rahul returns to the side after recovering from a shoulder injury.
It now remains to be the same who will be the coach of this Indian team as the BCCI has given enough indications that a new name will be announced before the team departs for Sri Lanka.
India won the last series in Sri Lanka 2-1 and it was also the farewell series for Kumar Sangakkara. R Ashwin was the leading wicket taker in the series and was adjudged the man of the match.
The Virat Kohli-led side is currently the number 1 Test team in the world and they would want to kickstart their new season with a dominating performance against Sri Lanka. However, having said that the Lankans have been in formidable form as they beat Australia in a Test series at home and thus the series promises to be a real belter.
INDIA Test squad vs SL: Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund