On Friday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced an 17-member squad for the upcoming Australia four-match Test series scheduled to commence on December 6. While Shikhar Dhawan has been dropped from the Indian Test squad, as back-up wicket-keeper, Parthiv Patel has been given a call along with Rishabh Pant staying as the primary choice.
However, Rohit Sharma has also been included in the Test squad, while both Rohit and Parthiv were not been included in the squad which travelled to England. Apart from them, all the usual suspects are a part of the team along with Murali Vijay, who had a dismal outing against England, makes a comeback after being dropped for the final few Tests against the Englishmen. The flamboyant all-rounder, Hardik Pandya has not been included in the squad due to the fitness concerns.
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After being dropped, Vijay played county cricket for Essex, where he scored a century and two half-centuries. Dinesh Karthik, on the other hand, has not been included in Test the squad. Rishabh Pant and Hanuma Vihari, who made their Test debuts against England, continue to be a part of the squad.
Team for Four Test match series against Australia announced
Virat Kohli (C), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Shami, Ishant, Umesh, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 26, 2018
In batting department, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul are the other openers followed by the veterans like Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, while Vihari has also been called back who played the last Test in England, but he was excluded from the two-match Test series against the Windies.
The Indian bowling department comprises of Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja followed by the fast bowlers list in which there is Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Jasorit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav.
Team for Four Test match series against Australia
Virat Kohli (C), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Shami, Ishant, Umesh, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
India A team for First Four Day game against New Zealand A announced
M Vijay, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Parthiv Patel (wk), K Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Md Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar,R Gurbani, Vijay Shankar,KS Bharath
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 26, 2018
The Indian selectors also announced the India ‘A’ squad for the first four-day against New Zealand ‘A’ in which Rahane will be leading the squad and Mayank Agarwal, who could have been the standby opener in Vijay’s absence has been included in the India A squad to New Zealand later in the year.
India A team for First Four Day game against New Zealand A
M Vijay, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Parthiv Patel (wk), K Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Md Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar,R Gurbani, Vijay Shankar,KS Bharath
Team India for Four Test match series against Australia announced
Virat Kohli (C), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Shami, Ishant, Umesh, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
