The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday (February 19) picked Team India’s squad for the upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka, starting March 4 in Mohali.

After Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as Test captain following the South Africa series last month, everyone was eagerly waiting for the squad announcement and the Chetan Sharma-led selection panel ended the speculation by naming Rohit Sharma as skipper, which now makes him a leader of all three formats.

The 18-member squad, led by Rohit, has notable omissions as the selectors decided to drop veteran batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane for their poor display lately.

The squad features the likes of Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, and Shubman Gill as specialist batters.

Rishabh Pant and KS Bharat are the two designated wicketkeepers in the squad, which also includes R Ashwin (subject to fitness), Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep as premier spinners while Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Siraj, and Mohammed Siraj form the pace attack.

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also returns to the Test side after recovering from a knee injury while Uttar Pradesh all-rounder Sourabh Kumar has received his maiden call-up to the Test squad.

India’s Test Squad:

Rohit Sharma (C), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat, R Ashwin (subject to fitness), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Sourabh Kumar