New selection committee to name Indian squad for first two Tests against England on Tuesday
The Chetan Sharma-led selection committee will pick the Indian squad for the first two Tests against England on Tuesday (January 19). Multiple Indian cricketers are out with injuries right now. Hence, the new committee will face a challenge in naming the Indian squad.
Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari are unlikely to feature in the Indian squad for the first two Test matches. The selectors could also rest the injured fast-bowling duo of Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami. Meanwhile, veteran pacer Ishant Sharma could return to the Test squad as he has played a few games for Delhi in the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, and T Natarajan have done an impressive job in the ongoing series versus Australia. The quartet will likely retain their spots. However, there is a question mark over Jasprit Bumrah's availability.
The fans will look forward to seeing if Ravichandran Ashwin gets a place in the Indian squad. The first two IND v ENG Test matches will be held in Chennai. Hence, the selectors would be keen to pick the local all-rounder.
Selectors to meet Virat Kohli virtually and finalize the Indian squad
According to Cricbuzz, Virat Kohli will have a Zoom call with the five selectors at 5 PM IST on Tuesday. Along with chief selector Chetan Sharma, Abey Kuruvilla, Sunil Joshi, Harvinder Singh, and Debashish Mohanty will attend the meeting.
The ICC World Test Championship series between India and England will get underway on February 5. Chennai will host the first two Tests, while Ahmedabad will play host to the day/night Test, and the final match.