The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the squad for the marquee five-Test series against Australia. Three uncapped players in opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, pacer Harshit Rana, and seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy have been included. The selectors have also named three travelling reserves in Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed.
Easwaran, the opener, has found a place as a reserve opener ahead of Ruturaj Gaikwad after finishing as the second-highest run-getter in the Duleep Trophy. The right-hander averages 49.92 in 99 first-class matches with 27 centuries. With Mohammed Shami yet to regain full fitness, the duo of Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna will join the pace battery of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep.
Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav was unavailable for selection due to a groin strain, while Axar Patel surprisingly failed to find a spot. The selectors have instead preferred Washington Sundar to partner Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as the spinner. KL Rahul has sneaked into the squad despite his struggles in the home series against New Zealand, while Dhruv Jurel is the reserve keeper in the touring party.
India have also stuck to the likes of Shubman Gill and Sarfaraz Khan despite their inconsistent run instead of bringing back Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.
Squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy:
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed.
The visitors will commence their tour with a warm-up game against India A in Perth from November 15 - November 17 ahead of the first Test against Australia in Perth on the 22nd.
Schedule of India vs Australia Test series:
First Test | November 22-26: Perth Stadium, Perth (D)
Second Test | December 6-10: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (D/N)
Third Test | December 14-18: The Gabba, Brisbane (D)
Fourth Test | December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne (D)
Fifth Test | January 3-7: SCG, Sydney (D)
