Major takeaways from India’s Test squad for the Sri Lanka series

Rohit Sharma has been named the new Test captain

Following Kohli’s resignation as Test captain after the series loss against South Africa last month, the selectors had the big task of deciding his successor. Rohit’s struggles with injuries – a hamstring problem saw him miss the whole tour of South Africa – could have been a hindrance, but the opener has ascended to the title of all-format captain.

Chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma said: “Rohit is the No. 1 cricketer of our country. He plays all three formats. Most important is, how we manage Rohit. These days all cricketers are professionals. They know their body, they manage it well. Now there is no problem at all. Time to time we will stay in talks with him [about fitness]. If such a big cricketer becomes captain, automatically we, as a selection committee, feel we can groom future captains under him.”

With two white-ball World Cups coming up in the next two years, it will be interesting to see how Rohit, who turns 35 in April, manages his workload across formats and the IPL.

Big names miss out

The Test squad for the upcoming series does not feature Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha and Ishant Sharma. Rahane and Pujara have been given long runs in the Test side, despite struggling over the last year. Rahane, the former vice-captain, averaged 20.82 in 2021, and 17 in the two games he played this year. Pujara fared slightly better, averaging 28.08 last year, but was still unconvincing at times in his role at No.3. The emergence of Mohammed Siraj appears to have played a part in Ishant’ demotion, while Saha has been displaced by KS Bharat as Rishabh Pant’s back-up.

The return of Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav had a promising start to his Test career, picking up nine wickets in his first two matches in 2017. However, he has played sporadically since, though still possesses an impressive record: in seven Tests he has collected 26 wickets at an average of 23.84.

With Axar Patel and Washington Sundar not in the fray due to their respective injuries, and R Ashwin’s participation subject to fitness, Kuldeep has been selected as one of the four spinners in the squad, alongside Ravindra Jadeja, Saurabh Kumar and Jayant Yadav.

The arrival of Saurabh Kumar

The Uttar Pradesh cricketer was given his maiden Test call-up having previously been a net bowler during India’s 2021 Test series against England at home. Kumar, a slow left-arm orthodox bowler, has picked up 196 first-class wickets at an average of 24.15 in 46 games, with 16 five-fors and six 10-wicket hauls. He toured South Africa with the India A side in December 2021 and picked up a total of four wickets in as many first-class innings.

He is also a handy batter lower down the order and has two first-class hundreds along with eight fifties to his name. If Ashwin, who adds great batting depth to the side, is unavailable, the team may hand Kumar a cap to help with the balance of the XI.

Who opens with Rohit?

India have as many as four opening options if all of Rohit, Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul are fit and available for selection. The side, have, however, not faced that dilemma in their last three Test series: Gill and Mayank suffered injuries ahead of the away series against England; Rohit was rested and Rahul injured against New Zealand; and Gill and Rohit missed the South Africa Test series due to their respective injuries.

Rahul is not in the squad due to injury, which leaves either Mayank or Gill as potential opening partners. Mayank has a fantastic record at home in the format, averaging 83.90 after seven games, with four hundreds and a high score of 243. He scored 150 and 62 in his last Test in the country, at Mumbai against New Zealand. Gill, on the other hand, had a blistering start to his Test career, scoring 259 runs in three matches during the memorable 2020-21 series against Australia. However, his form has dropped off since then, and his average of 26.30 at home leaves much to be desired.