IND vs SL: Pujara and Rahane Dropped from India Test Squad: For the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka veteran batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have both been dropped from the side along with veteran seamer Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha. The four have been asked to be part of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.
Pujara and Rahane Dropped from India Test Squad
India will play three T20Is against Sri Lanka, starting February 24. The opener will be played in Lucknow while the other will be staged in Dharamsala on February 26 and 27.
The three-match T20I series will be followed by a two-Test contest, starting March 4 in Mohali. The second Test, which will be a Day-Night game, will be played in Bengaluru on March 12.
Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the second Test against New Zealand in December, the entire overseas tour of South Africa and the home series against West Indies, will return for the contest against Sri Lanka.
And, R Ashwin, who has been undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, will be assessed before his inclusion in the Test squad.
Asked about the experienced players being dropped, Team India chief selector Chetan Sharma said that they had been asked to play in the domestic Ranji Trophy. Wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha and veteran pacer Ishant Sharma also didn’t find any place in the India squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka.
Rohit Sharma As Test Captain
Meanwhile, India’s white-ball captain Rohit Sharma has been named captain of the team for the Test series against Sri Lanka as well.
“Rohit is the No. 1 cricketer of our country,” Chetan said. “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 [regarding fitness and rest]. If such a big cricketer becomes captain, automatically we, as a selection committee, feel we can groom future captains under him.”
Former India captain Virat Kohli and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has been rested from the T20I series against Sri Lanka on advice from medical staff. Shardul Thakur, on the other hand, has been rested from both formats against Sri Lanka.
Barring the three, the T20I squad remains the same for Team India with Sanju Samson joining in place of Pant and Jadeja has been included as well.
Test Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, R Pant, KS Bharat, R Ashwin (subject to fitness), R Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, J Bumrah (vc), Md. Shami, Md. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Saurabh Kumar
T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Bumrah (vc), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Md. Siraj, Sanju Samson (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Y Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan
