India have released Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill from the Test squad to allow them some game time in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Andhra Pradesh keeper-batsman Kona Shrikar Bharat has been named as the standby for Wriddhiman Saha for the second Test against Bangladesh, in Kolkata.
Pant, who is expected to be a part of the upcoming series against the West Indies, will now be available for Delhi’s next two Super League matches, which will be played against Haryana and Rajasthan on November 24 and November 27 respectively, as well as for the semi-finals and final, if Delhi qualify.
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Gill, on the other hand, will be available for Punjab in their next two Super League games against Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on November 24 and November 25 respectively.
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Bharat has been a regular high performer in the domestic circuit, scoring 3,909 runs in 69 first-class games with eight hundreds and 20 half-centuries.
“I played the first pink ball match in Lucknow when it was introduced in the Duleep Trophy in 2015,” Bharat told PTI on Friday (November 22). “I got a call and was asked to join the team in the morning. I am looking forward to sharing the dressing room with my idol Virat Bhai. Wriddhiman is one of the best wicketkeepers of the current era. I’m hoping to learn a lot from them. Too excited.”
