Abhimanyu Easwaran, Harshit Rana picked as India announce squad for 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia
Bengal batter Abhimanyu Easwaran and Delhi pacer Harshit Rana have been selected for India's squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. The squad for the tour was announced on Friday, October 25.
Abhimanyu Easwaran gets a call-up after impressive performances in the domestic circuit. The Bengal captain scored hundreds for fun whilst playing for India B in the Duleep Trophy and the Rest of India in the Irani Cup. Meanwhile, Harshit Rana, who has been a part of Team India's squads across formats since the tour of Sri Lanka, earns his maiden call-up to the Test side.
Along with the two, Andhra and Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy also earns a call-up to the national Test side. He recently made his debut in the T20I series against Bangladesh. In other developments, India have named Jasprit Bumrah as their vice-captain. There are speculations that captain Rohit Sharma could miss the first or the second of the five Tests that will be played on the tour.
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Along with the 18 players named for the tour, Team India has also named three pacers as their backup for the tour, with Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed accompanying the side.
Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav left out of the squad for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Team India all-rounder Axar Patel and bowler Kuldeep Yadav have been left out of the squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Axar Patel's absence hasn't been elaborated on. However, the media advisory by the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) states that Kuldeep will be referred to the BCCI Centre of Excellence. He will be monitored for a long-term resolution of his chronic left groin issue.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be starting on November 22 with the Optus Stadium, Perth playing host to the series opener. The tour ends with a New Year's Test that will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), Sydney from January 3.