The BCCI, on January 13, named the India squad for the first 2 Tests against Australia and for the limited overs series against New Zealand at home. There were many surprises in all three squads which were named by the new selection committee headed by Chetan Sharma.
Prithvi Shaw has been drafted into the T20I squad, while Sanju Samson misses out on both white-ball squads. Interestingly, Jasprit Bumrah has not been named in the Test team. It is believed he is still not ready to endure the rigors of Test cricket yet.
As per the Times of India report, selectors looked out for an attacking option at no.5 to replace Rishabh Pant, someone who can take the game away with the bat in precarious situations. It is learnt that the selectors and team management are eager to play Ishan in the middle order against Australia as that could be a like-for-like replacement for Pant.
"Playing a wicketkeeper in place of Pant is not the major problem. The team needs someone who can take the game away at No. 5 like Pant did. That’s why Ishan has been picked. Suryakumar is also seen as such an option. India are expected to play on turners. So, the team will be looking at someone who can score quickly," a BCCI source told TOI.
Meanwhile, Sarfaraz Khan missed out on India's team selection as selectors felt that he has struggled to convert his domestic form for India ‘A’ team.
Selectors also thought that KS Bharat is not the batter they wanted to play in the top 6 and this would mean sacrificing a bowler. However, they are weary of the fact that Kishan has not kept wickets in red-ball cricket for some time.
"Bharat is not seen as someone who can bat in the top six. If Bharat is played then the team will be forced to sacrifice a bowler. If Ishan is played, then he can bat in the top 6. But the concern is that Ishan has not been keeping wickets in First-Class matches. He didn’t keep wickets in the last game he played for Jharkhand," the source said.
Ravindra Jadeja, the left-arm all-rounder was named in the Indian team for the first time since Asia Cup 2022, after he rehabbed successfully from his knee surgery.
He has been named to the Test team subject to fitness and he has been asked to play at least one domestic game to show he is indeed fit.
"Jadeja has been asked to play at least one domestic game. If he is indeed fit then it will solve the problem of having a left-hander in the middle order and India can play five bowlers," the source said.
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Meanwhile, KL Rahul and Akshar Patel opted out of the NZ series due to personal commitments.
India squad for the first two Tests vs Australia:
Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.
ODI squad for the New Zealand series:
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat (wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik.
T20I squad for the New Zealand series:
Hardik Pandya (captain), Suryakumar Yadav (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Prithvi Shaw, Mukesh Kumar.
(Times of India inputs)
