Board of Cricket Council of India (BCCI) has announced the test squad for the first two test matches against England. The five match test series is scheduled to start from 9th November and the first match will be played at Rajkot.
The Board led by MSK Prasad has mustered a very strong team and has clearly focused on the fitness and current form of the players.
There are no changes in the core team but a few players have made it to the test team due to their current performance in the Ranji Trophy. However, BCCI has not selected players like Deepak Hooda, Sheldon Jackson and Yuvraj Singh for the England series, despite their consistent performance in Domestic Cricket.
Gautam Gambhir, who scored a fifty in the final test against New Zealand, confirmed a berth in the test team. However, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul are not added to the 15 players list due to their injuries.
Ishant Sharma is making a comeback after missing the action against Kiwis due to Chikungunya and Hardik Pandya is also included in the team in the place of Rohit Sharma as he is suffering from injuries.
Here is the 15 member Test Team.
Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli (C), Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Karun Nair, Umesh Yadav, Amit Mishra, Jayant Yadav.
#TeamIndia squad for first two Tests against England. @Paytm Test Cricket #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/9VZX6ETmHy
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 2, 2016
India vs England Test Series Schedule:
- 9th November at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
- 17th November at ACA-VDCA Stadium, Visakhapatnam
- 26th November at IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali
- 8th December at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
- 16th December at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Here is how twitterati reacted:
Thank you for your wishes and messages. Keep supporting Team India. Onwards and upwards! #INDvENG
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) November 2, 2016
To be part of the Indian 🇮🇳 Test squad is a dream come true for me. pic.twitter.com/OZUFAHo97p
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) November 2, 2016
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my supporters, family members & the selectors for having faith in me.✌️️#INDvENG
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) November 2, 2016
MSK Prasad: Dravid worked hard on Pandya's mental coaching in India A tour. Now Kumble is doing same. He is a genuine all-rounder. #IndvEng
— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) November 2, 2016
Rohit out for 6-8 weeks due to thigh strain. Dhawan has just started his rehab. Rahul unavailable for 1st Test. #IndvEng
— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) November 2, 2016
India's Test squad: Five batsmen, three fast bowlers, four spinning allronders, one seam-bowling allrounder, one wicketkeeper. #INDvENG
— Jamie Alter (@alter_jamie) November 2, 2016
#INDvENG MSK Prasad: Even if there were regular openers, we would have still preferred @GautamGambhir. We think 10 times before selecting
— TOI Sports News (@TOISportsNews) November 2, 2016
Top of the Ranji charts with 587 runs from 4 matches, but no recall to the Test side for @YUVSTRONG12 Selectors go with Karun #cricket
— Anand Vasu (@anandvasu) November 2, 2016
In 2012, India was defeated by England in their own backyard and now the Virat Kohli led Indian Team will definitely look for retribution.
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2 November 2016
Rohan Jaitly