No Mohammed Shami; Kuldeep Yadav Dropped As India Announce Squad For BGT 2024
sIndia's Squad for BGT 2024 (Source:@OneCricketApp/X.com)
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has announced an 18-member squad for the all-important Border Gavaskar Trophy, which will be played in Australia from November 22. Abhimanyu Easwaran and Prasidh Krishna have made a comeback while Axar Patel has been dropped. Also, Mohammed Shami has failed to make the cut, with concerns over his injury still persisting.
Nitish Reddy And Harshit Rana Earn Maiden Test Call-Up
Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana have been handed their maiden Test call-ups. Kuldeep Yadav though has missed the flight as he will be heading to BCCI centre of Excellence to treat his chronic left groin injury after the New Zealand series.
Along with Kuldeep Yadav, Mayank Yadav was also not available for selection due to his injury. The good news for India is that Rohit Sharma has been named captain for the complete series and he is likely to take part in all the five Test matches. Also, the other notable inclusion in the squad is of Washington Sundar, who made a memorable comeback in the Pune Test against New Zealand.
India Opt For Pace-Heavy Arsenal
Rest of the players are same that are currently playing Test series against New Zealand. It will be a first tour of Australia for Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan and they would be a key figures in the batting line-up comprising of senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Dhruv Jurel is the second wicketkeeper in the squad alongside Rishabh Pant while Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will accompany Washington Sundar in the spin department.
Akash Deep also has made the cut after impressive performances in the home Test matches and overall, India have gone with five front-line pacers and one seam-bowling all-rounder in the form of Nitish Reddy. Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed are the three travelling reserves to cover-up for any injury during the tour. The first Test will be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth from November 22 and India would be eyeing hat-trick of series wins Down Under after triumphs on the 2018-19 and 2020-21 tours.
India's Squad For BGT 2024
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar
Travelling Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed