Indian selected committee headed by Chetan Sharma has announced the squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka home series.
Rohit Sharma, who recently replaced Virat Kohli as the captain of ODIs and T20Is, has been named as the Test captain as well.
Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah will be Rohit’s deputy for the upcoming Test series. The selectors have decided to drop both Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara after their slim run in recent matches.
Talking during the virtual conference, Indian selector Chetan Sharma revealed that they came to his decision after thinking hard. He also assured that the doors for both cricketers are still open.
“We thought long and hard before arriving at decision. We have spoken to them before and told them that they won’t be part of two tests against Sri Lanka. Doors are totally open to them. It’s just for these two tests,” selection committee chairman Chetan Sharma told reporters during a virtual press conference.
“They have served the country for long, so they can always come back, why not? It’s like a graph. .. Rahane hit a hundred yesterday. this is a process of managing…Who wouldn’t be happy if they come back,” he added.
Another name to be missed out of the squad is Wriddhiman Saha. “I can’t tell you on what grounds he has been dropped. That’s for selectors. All I can tell you is that he was told before and asked to play the Ranji trophy, which is the ladder for the Indian team.”
India has added Uttar Pradesh spinner Saurabh Kumar for the Test series. Ravindra Jadeja is back into the squad as well.
India Test Squad for SL: Rohit Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, R Pant, KS Bharat, R Ashwin (subject to fitness), R Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, J Bumrah (vc), Md. Shami, Md. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Saurabh Kumar
India T20I squad for SL: Rohit Sharma (c)Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Bumrah (vc), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Md. Siraj, Sanju Samson (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Y Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan
