Mumbai: Gautam Gambhir and pacer Ishant Sharma have been included in the Indian squad for the first two Tests as the Board of Control for Cricket in India today announced the 15-member squad for the series at home against England.All-rounder Hardik Pandya has also found a place in the squad.
Gautam Gambhir retained his spot in the squad after KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan failed to recover from their injuries.Karun Nair has retained in the Test squad in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who suffered a hamstring injury during the ODI series against New Zealand.
India is currently ranked No 1 in the world after thrashing New Zealand 3-0 at home last month.This series though is expected to be a challenge for the home side after England beat them 2-1 in 2012 on their previous tour.Following the first Test, the teams are scheduled to play four more matches in Visakhapatnam, Mohali, Mumbai and Chennai.
Squad: Virat Kohli (capt), R Ashwin, Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Mohammad Shami, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Karun Nair, M Vijay, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav (UNI)