The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced an 18-member squad for the highly anticipated five-match test series against Australia where unpredictable moves were made as Mohammed Shami has been excluded.
Shami, who is working hard to get fit for the Border Gavaskar Trophy, underwent ankle surgery earlier this year. His rehabilitation process seemed to be on track until he developed a swelling in his knee.
Recently, Shami denied media reports suggesting he would miss the Border Gavaskar Trophy and earlier this week he stated that he is completely pain-free and planned to play a couple of domestic matches before the tour of Australia.
🚨 NEWS 🚨
Squads for India’s tour of South Africa & Border-Gavaskar Trophy announced 🔽#TeamIndia | #SAvIND | #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/Z4eTXlH3u0
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 25, 2024
Meanwhile, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Harshit Rana and Nitish Reddy were included in the squad for the series. Kuldeep Yadav has been excluded as he is set to figure out the solution for his chronic left groin issue.
“Kuldeep Yadav was unavailable for selection for the tour of Australia since he has been referred to The BCCI Centre of Excellence after the end of ongoing test series against New Zealand for long-term resolution of his chronic left groin issue,” said a BCCI statement.
Mayank Yadav has been ruled out due to injury after he was initially considered for selection and the selectors have selected three spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.
With Hardik Pandya expected to cut in for the Border Gavaskar Trophy, India went with Nitish who had a stunning all-rounder performance against Bangladesh in a T20I match.
The squad also features several backup options like Prasidh Krishna who will be returning after his injury. He has played in two tests during the South Africa tour earlier this year. Meanwhile, Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed have been named as Travelling reserves.
The first match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy is set to begin on November 22 at Perth Stadium.
India Squad for Border Gavaskar Trophy: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R. Ashwin, R. Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
