India’s squad for first three Tests against England announced; Shami returns

New Delhi: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced the longer-format squad of India for the first three tests of the five-match series against England starting next month.

The 5-match Test series starting on August 1 and will be concluding on 11the September.

Mohammed Shami, who missed the one-off Test against Afghanistan last month after failing a fitness test, is back in the 18-member squad. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who aggravated a lower back injury in the third ODI against England, has been ruled out.

Wriddhiman Saha hasn’t been named while Rishabh Pant has been named as the backup wicketkeeper for Dinesh Karthik. Besides, Kuldeep Yadav retained his place for the series whereas, Jasprit Bumrah will be available for selection from the second Test onwards.

Test Squad:

Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Karun Nair, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur. (UNI)