Team India vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah has said that veteran spinner R Ashwin is shaping up well and he looked good in the training session too, which also hinted at his inclusion in the first Test of a two-match Test series against Sri Lanka in Mohali, starting March 4. Ashwin, who last played for India in the ODI series against South Africa, was ruled out of the limited-overs series against West Indies due to an injury as well.
“Ashwin is shaping up well. No complaints. He looked good and did everything in training today. Batted, bowled and did fielding. Hopefully, there won’t be any issue,” Jasprit Bumrah told reporters in a virtual interaction ahead of the Test series vs Sri Lanka.
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R Ashwin, meanwhile, has taken 430 wickets from 84 Tests and is just behind Kapil Dev (434) and Anil Kumble in the list of India’s leading wicket-takers’ in the longest format. Ashwin has claimed 300 of his 430 Test wickets on Indian soil and holds the record for the fastest bowler to scalp 300 Test wickets in 54 matches as well.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma’s first Test as captain will also see a new era for India’s middle-order with Shubman Gill and Hanuma Vihari all set to become the possible replacements of the veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane as well.
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India’s Test squad against Sri Lanka: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, R Ashwin (subject to fitness clearance), Kuldeep Yadav, Saurabh Kumar, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain).
