India start a long home series against England on the 9th of November and the BCCI’s selection committee was forced to make quite a few changes while naming the team for the first two Tests.
Who’s in: Gautam Gambhir has been retained in the squad after getting a call up during the New Zealand series, following KL Rahul’s injury. Ishant Sharma too is back after suffering from Chikungunya, and following his performance in the ODI series, Hardik Pandya has earned his first India call-up.
Who’s out: The string of injuries during the recently concluded New Zealand series now will have an impact on the upcoming matches as well. KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rohit Sharma are all going to be watching the action from home.
If you look at Hardik Pandya, his pace has increased.His overall personality has mellowed down. He did extremely well in the ODI series and also during the A tour Down Under. We all have been trying to find an all-rounder after Kapil Dev. In case we play three spinners, he can be the second seamer and also can bat.MSK Prasad, Chairman of Selectors
Gautam Gambhir made his comeback to the Indian dressing room after two long years when KL Rahul picked up a hamstring strain. Given a game in the final fixture, Gambhir posted scores of 29 and 50 in his two innings. Not picked for the ODI series, the Delhi Ranji skipper returned to domestic cricket and added another 147 to his record books, against Odisha.
Ishant Sharma was part of the team named for New Zealand but could not take the field due to Chikungunya. He has since recovered and played 2 Ranji matches, bowling more than 40 overs at good pace.
Karun Nair is the reserve batsman and Jayant Yadav is the fourth spinner in the squad after Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra.
The pace duo of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav retained their places in the side. Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay, on the other hand, were automatic inclusions.
Among the injured, Rahul is nursing a hamstring strain, Bhuvneshwar is dealing with an ankle injury and Dhawan is nursing a finger injury.
Rohit Sharma injured his upper thigh during the final Kiwi fixture:
Rohit Sharma might have to undergo surgery for the injury to his upper thigh. If he does not, he will need 6-8 weeks to recover.MSK Prasad, Chairman of Selectors
Meanwhile, the visiting England squad is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday from Bangladesh after drawing the two-Test rubber against the hosts.
They are not scheduled to play any practice game and will have just one practice session on November 5 at the Cricket Club of India before leaving for the venue of the opening Test, Rajkot, according to BCCI sources.
"Currently they are to have just one practice session. If they want more it will be arranged," the sources informed.
The Indian squad is set to assemble in Rajkot, which is to host a first-ever Test, on November 5 evening, BCCI sources added. The other Tests are slated to be held in Vishakapatnam (Nov 17-21), Mohali (Nov 26-30), Mumbai (Dec 8-12) and Chennai (Dec 16-20).
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