The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the squads for Team India’s upcoming matches against Australia.
The squad for the last two Tests against Australia remains unchanged.
Jaydev Unadkat, who was released from the squad for the Ranji Trophy final, has been added to the remaining Tests and the ODI squad. He last played a 50-over game for India against the West Indies in 2013.
KL Rahul has been retained in the squad, even though he had a poor showing with the bat in the first two Tests.
Interestingly, Rohit Sharma has gone on record and pledged his support to ‘talented players’ like KL Rahul.
The Indian captain suggested that those with such potential will get a long rope by the team management.
“Of late, there has been a lot of talk about his batting. For us, as team management, we always look at the potential of any individual, not just KL.”
“I was asked in the past about a lot of players. If a guy has potential, he will get an extended run. Not just KL. If you look at the couple of hundreds he got, especially at Lord’s, batting on that damp pitch.”
“Centurion was another win. Both came in India winning both games. That’s the potential he has,” Rohit said.
“Obviously, of late, there have been a lot of talks. But, from our side, it was clear that we want him to go out and play his game and do what he can do the best, that we have seen him do over the years.”
“Of course, when you are playing on pitches like these, you need to find your method of scoring runs.”
“As I said, different individuals are part of these teams and they will have different methods of scoring runs. Find your own methods of doing this.”
However, KL Rahul will be under pressure as there will be no designated vice-captain for the third and fourth Tests, unlike in the first two Tests.
The third Test will be held at the Holkar Stadium in Indore from March 1 to 5, while the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the fourth and final Test from March 9 to 13.
India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, will miss the first ODI due to family commitments, and Hardik Pandya will lead the team in his absence.
The three ODIs will be played in Mumbai, Vizag, and Chennai on March 17, 19, and 22, respectively.
India’s Test squad for the third and fourth Tests:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), K L Rahul, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Umesh Yadav, and Jaydev Unadkat.
India’s ODI squad against Australia:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, K L Rahul, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, and Jaydev Unadkat.
