Picture Credit: BCCI
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a 20-member squad for the Test series against England. The five-match Test series will commence in August but the Virat Kohli-led side will have to play the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand at Southampton prior to that. With IPL 2021 now being suspended, the team is likely to depart for England on June 2.
The selectors have, thus, announced a combined squad for the World Test Championship final as well as the five-Tests that follow. While Prithvi Shaw hasn't been able to make a place into the squad despite consistent performances in the limited-overs domestic circuit and the IPL, Kuldeep Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have also not found a place in the side along with Hardik Pandya.
"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has picked the Indian squad for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final and the five-match Test series against England," the BCCI said in an official release.
"Team India’s first stop will be in Southampton where they play New Zealand to decide the first champion of the Test format. Following their 3-1 win against England at home, India finished as the No. 1 side with 72.2 percentage points and booked their place in the final," the statement added.
India’s Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance).
Standby players: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla.