Kohli to miss 3 Tests
India’s much-anticipated tour of Australia gets even more interesting. This time it is due to the news of Virat Kohli being granted expectant paternity leave. This means Kohli will leave the Australian shores after the completion of the pink ball test match to be held in Adelaide. It would leave the Indian team without its star batsman for 3 test matches.
Rohit gets back to the Test squad
Another interesting announcement was the inclusion of Rohit Sharma to the test squad. Hitman who was reportedly being monitored by the medical team of BCCI gave him a go-ahead and was subsequently added to the test squad. He has however been rested from the limited-overs leg of the tour down under.
Ajinkya Rahane most likely to lead in Kohli’s absence
Even though Rohit Sharma makes the Test squad, it would be vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, in all probability who will be stepping into the shoes of captaincy for the 3 tests scheduled to be played in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.
Ishant Sharma’s availability subjected to Fitness clearance
Indian pace spearhead, Ishant Sharma, who was ruled out of the IPL after suffering from an abdominal tear has been undergoing rehabilitation at NCA, Bengaluru. Once Ishant passes the fitness test, he would board the plane to Australia.
Sanju Samson backup keeper in ODI’s
Sanju Samson finds himself in the ODI squad as a backup keeper to KL Rahul. He was already part of the T20 squad.
Saha’s fitness under the scanner
Wriddhiman Saha, who suffered injuries to both his hamstrings remains a doubtful starter for the series. But BCCI is yet to decide on his participation in the test series.
One Tamil Nadu player replaced by other
Varun Chakravarthy, currently nursing a shoulder injury won’t be part of the T20 squad. T Natrajan, who was one of the finds of this IPL replaces him in the squad. The idea of Natrajan pairing up with Bumrah to shell out Yorkers in itself is wonderful.
Revised Squads across formats for Australian Tour:
Test squad:
Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Mohammad Siraj
ODI squad:
Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vice-captain & wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper)
T20I squad:
Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (vice-captain and wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan
