"Lovely to be back here" - Ravichandran Ashwin reaches Mohali ahead of India-Sri Lanka Test series
Team India's star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has arrived in Mohali ahead of the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.
The Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium will play host to the series opener between the two cricketing nations, which will be played from March 4th to 8th.
Ashwin took to social media on Wednesday (February 23) to share a picture of himself from the stadium. Team India last played a Test at the venue in November 2016 against England.
The crafty spinner expressed his happiness at returning to the stadium for a red-ball clash. He wrote:
"Lovely to be back here, been a few years since we played a game at this wonderful venue. #mohali #indvsl."
The seasoned campaigner has been named in India's Test squad for the two-match Test series. However, his availability will be subject to a fitness clearance.
It is worth mentioning that the 35-year-old missed the recently concluded white-ball series against West Indies because of injury.
India and Sri Lanka to lock horns in first T20I on Thursday
The Men in Blue will take on Sri Lanka in the first T20I of the three-match series tomorrow at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.
Prep mode 🔛
#TeamIndia hit the ground running as they gear up for the @Paytm #INDvSL T20I series. 💪 👍 https://t.co/pcRxQYiJMw
The two teams will then travel to Dharamsala for the remaining two fixtures, scheduled to be played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on February 26 and February 27.
Here is India's squad for the T20I and Test series:
T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah (VC) and Avesh Khan.
Test squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat, Ravichandran Ashwin (subject to fitness), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Sourabh Kumar.