Along with the announcement of the T20I squad of India for the series against West Indies and Australia, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday also announced the 18-man squad for the four-match Test series against Australia.
Three big names – Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay and Parthiv Patel have all been recalled for the much anticipated Test series and chief selector MSK Prasad has explained the logic behind these three selections.
“With regards to Rohit, he is a good back-foot player and we felt his game is much suited in Australia,” Prasad said.
He is back in whites – @ImRo45 is back in the Test squad for the Australia series #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/3CU85AXzLc
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 26, 2018
“Vijay went back, showed the intent and performed and considering the intensity of the series we have brought him,” he added on Vijay’s inclusion.
Rishabh Pant remains the number one choice among wicketkeepers, but the selectors have preferred Parthiv over the rest of the options.
MSK Prasad lauds @parthiv9's grit after being drafted into the Test squad for Australia series #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/951n23QEnL
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 26, 2018
“The advantage with Parthiv is that he is a left-hander and can bat anywhere and when the team demanded he opened the innings with a fractured hand in South Africa. He was not picked for Afghanistan Test and subsequent England series. He played the Duleep Trophy and whatever matches that happened, he batted well. It’s an intensive series (in Australia) and we have called him back,” the chairman assessed.
