Karun Nair and Kuldeep Yadav have been included in the 15-man squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan, the BCCI announced on Tuesday (May 8). Ajinkya Rahane will lead the side in the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli, who has opted for a county stint with Surrey instead.
The selectors have rested Rohit Sharma ahead of India’s tour of Ireland and England. The 31-year-old, who had a forgettable South African tour, has been playing non-stop cricket for a while. When some of the top players were rested for the T20I home series against Sri Lanka last December and during the Nidahas Trophy in March this year, Rohit was entrusted with leading the side.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma, who are plying their trade in England will return to participate in Afghanistan’s first-ever Test match, that begins on June 14 before heading back to continue with their county assignments.
Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who were a part of the squad for the Test series in South Africa have also been rested with the selectors opting to add Shardul Thakur and an extra spinner in Kuldeep to the squad.
Parthiv Patel, who was the backup wicketkeeper in South Africa has also been omitted. Wriddhiman Saha returns to the squad as the first-choice gloveman after getting injured during the South African series.
Squad: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Shardul Thakur
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