Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant have been included in India’s Test squad to face England while batsman Rohit Sharma misses out.
Sharma, who struck two centuries during the limited-overs leg of the tour to England, was passed over in favour of Karun Nair, the India A captain who replaced Sharma in the squad following the latter’s poor display in South Africa.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not been included at this stage due to a back condition aggravated during the final ODI on Tuesday, while Jasprit Bumrah will only be available from the second Test onwards due to the broken thumb that kept him out of the white-ball series.
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The BCCI’s statement said: “Bhuvneshwar Kumar aggravated a lower back condition in the third ODI against England. His condition is being assessed by the BCCI medical team and a call on his inclusion in the Test squad will be made soon.
“Jasprit Bumrah, who has been included in the squad, will be available for selection from the second Test onwards based on his fitness.”
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The remaining seamers are Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami, who returns having passed the mandatory yo-yo fitness test.
Kuldeep Yadav retains his place as the third spinner in the squad (that faced Afghanistan), and will push for a spot alongside Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja following his impressive exploits against England in the ODIs, which included figures of 6-25 in the first game at Trent Bridge.
The exciting Rishabh Pant has been included as back-up keeper to Dinesh Karthik following the recent injury to Wriddhiman Saha. Pant, 20, lit up this year’s IPL and averages 55.40 in his short first-class career with a strike-rate of 97.42.
