BCCI Announces India Squad For The First Two Tests Against England

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday (January 19) announced the India squad for the first two home Tests against England. Captain Virat Kohli, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, and fast bowler Ishant Sharma return to the 18-member India squad for the first two Tests which will be played at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

Virat Kohli, who had flown back to Mumbai after the first Test against Australia to attend his first child's birth, will be returning to lead the side. Ishant Sharma, who has recovered from his side strain injury and is currently representing Delhi in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, will lead a four-pronged pace attack comprising Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur.



All-rounder Hardik Pandya, who recently lost his father, has got some good news as he has been named to the squad. After playing the white-ball leg Down Under, the 27-year-old was left out from the Test squad to work on his fitness and bowling long spells.

Some of the prominent names to have missed out in the first two tests due to injuries are Ravindra Jadeja, Hanuma Vihari, Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, and Mohammad Shami are yet to attain full fitness. The only player dropped on the basis of performance is the 21-year-old opener, Prithvi Shaw. The selectors have also opted to leave out T Natarajan, who made an impressive debut in the just-concluded Brisbane Test having stayed on as a net bowler.

Squad - Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya (VC), KL Rahul, Hardik, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur



The All-India Senior Selection Committee has also picked five net bowlers and five players as standbys. Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Warrier, Krishnappa Gowtham, and Saurabh Kumar are the net bowlers while KS Bharat, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shahbaz Nadeem, Rahul Chahar, and Priyank Panchal has been named as standbys.

The first of the 4-match Test series will be played from 5 to 9 February while the second test is scheduled from 13 to 17 February. The third and fourth Test will be played at Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad. The third Test will be a day-night test scheduled from 24 to 28 February with the last Test from 4 to 8 March.

Stay tuned...