The BCCI announced India's squad for the Australia Test series on Friday with major changes to their current setup. Mohammed Shami failed to recover on time and Kuldeep Yadav has been a surprise exclusion from India's 18-member squad.
Nitish Reddy, Harshit Rana and Abhimanyu Easwaran are in contention for their first Test capt. KL Rahul keeps his place in the team after being dropped from the playing eleven for the ongoing third Test match against New Zealand in Pune.
Abhimanyu, 29, has been around the team for some years now but has struggled to find a place in the playing elevens. Captain Rohit Sharma is reportedly doubtful for the opening Test in Perth and the in-form Bengal opener might fill in his place.
Apart from Kuldeep and Shami, there are no major exclusions in India's squad for the five-match series starting on November 22. The BCCI statement revealed that Kuldeep is struggling with a chronic left groin issue and will join the brand-new BCCI Centre of Excellence after the Pune Test.
"Kuldeep Yadav was unavailable for selection for the tour of Australia since he has been referred to The BCCI Centre of Excellence after the end of the ongoing Test series against New Zealand for long-term resolution of his chronic left groin issue," the BCCI press release read.
As expected, Indian management has focused more on the pace options with six fast bowlers included in the squad. Jasprit Bumrah has been named vice-captain while Prasidh Krishna is returning after missing the last three Test assignments against England, Bangladesh and New Zealand. India have also named three fast bowlers Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed in the travelling reserves.
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), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed
