The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a 18-man Test squad for the Australia tour, which begins later this month. The Tests series, however, begin next month.
Both Rohit Sharma and Parthiv Patel have been included in the squad. They were not a part of the Test team which played an away series against England and a home series against West Indies.
Apart from them, opening batsman Murali Vijay, who had a dismal outing in England, makes a comeback after being dropped for the final few Tests against the Englishmen. After being dropped, he played county cricket for Essex, where he scored a century and two half-centuries.
On the other hand, wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik has not been included in the squad.
Rishabh Pant and Hanuma Vihari, who made their Test debuts against England, continue to be a part of the squad. Both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, along with Kuldeep Yadav are in the squad as the spin options.
Keeping the workload in mind, the selectors have picked five good fast-bowling options. These include Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
India’s squad for the Tests series against Australia:
Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
