Earlier today, BCCI announced the India Test squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. Rohit Sharma is now Test captain of India and the major highlight of this announcement was that Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, and Ishant Sharma were dropped from the Test squad. Virat Kohli will play as a player, not a vice-captain.
Indian Squad for Test series against Sri Lanka:
R Sharma(C), S Gill, M Agarwal, P Panchal, V Kohli, S Iyer, H Vihari, R Pant(WK), KS Bharat(WK), R Jadeja, J Yadav, K Yadav, J Bumrah(VC), M Shami, M Siraj, U Yadav, S Kumar.
(R Ashwin's selection is subject to fitness)
R Jadeja makes his comeback in the Test squad along with K Yadav. S Kumar and P Panchal are set to make their debut.
Since 2013, at least one of these 4 players has been present in the playing 11 of the Indian Test team. Pujara and Rahane were very close to getting dropped from the national team because of their consistently poor performances. Ishant's performance was consistently declining and he failed to take early wickets with a new ball. Saha is a dependable wicketkeeper but he failed to provide middle-order batting any strength.
Chairman of India's selection committee Chetan Sharma, told these 4 players right after the South Africa series that they won't be considered for just these two Tests. Chetan also said that he requested them to play the Ranji trophy to prove their form and fitness. In the ongoing Ranji season, Rahane scored 129 in the 1st inning against Saurashtra and Pujara got out for 4-ball-duck in reply to Mumbai's 1st inning.
Pujara in Tests since his 193 in Sydney Test 2019: 0 centuries, 11 fifties in 48 innings.
Pujara in his last 10 Tests: 0 centuries, 3 fifties in 20 innings at an average of just 24.68.
Rahane in Tests since his 112 in Melbourne Test 2020: 0 centuries, 3 fifties in 27 innings.
Rahane is his last 10 Tests: 0 centuries, 2 fifties in 18 innings at an average of just 20.83.
Ishant since his last 5-for in Wellington Test 2020: 19 wickets, 0 5-for in 9 Tests.
Saha in Tests since his 117 in Ranchi Test 2017: 0 centuries, 2 fifties + 53 dismissals in 20 innings.
Saha in his last 10 Tests: 0 centuries, 1 fifty at an average of just 22.88 + 34 dismissals.
Most matches played under Kohli's captaincy:
A Rahane – 63
C Pujara – 62
R Ashwin – 55
I Sharma – 43
R Jadeja – 40
W Saha – 36
And Virat Kohli himself played 68 Tests as Test captain. This shows how much trust Kohli kept in these 4 players. But the recent form from these 4 and Kohli led India to lose the Test series in NZ first and SA later. In both the defeated series, India was completely dominated by the hosts.
On the other hand, ever since Rohit Sharma was promoted to the opening position, his performance is phenomenal. Batting at the opening position, Rohit made 1462 runs in 27 innings of 18 Tests at an average of 58.48. This includes 5 centuries and 4 half-centuries. This shows that he is in his top form right now. Hopefully, his form will continue with the captainship too.
R Jadeja made his comeback from injury after 1st Test against NZ. R Ashwin is included in the squad but he will play only if he is fit. Axar Patel is still recovering from injury and Saurabh Kumar is included as a left-arm spinner for his replacement. Kuldeep Yadav also made his comeback to Tests after ODI and T20s.
“Rohit is the No. 1 cricketer of our country, he plays all three formats. Most important is, how we manage Rohit. These days all cricketers are professionals. They know their body, they manage it well. Now there is no problem at all. Time to time we will stay in talks with him [regarding fitness and rest]. If such a big cricketer becomes captain, automatically we, as a selection committee, feel we can groom future captains under him.”, Chetan Sharma on Rohit Sharma.
Other big names that are not part of the squad are KL Rahul and Shardul Thakur. KL is not fit to play and Shardul is rested from the Tests.
The exclusion of Pujara, Rahane, Ishant, and Saha indicate the Indian team that is no longer following Kohli's tactics. Rohit along with S Iyer, H Vihari, R Pant, and J Bumrah is the new default of the Indian Test team. Moving forward from this series, India will be looking to find a stable core on the batting side and perform well in the ICC World Test Championship.
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