The All-India Senior Selection Committee on Friday named a 20-man squad for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and the five-match Test series against England.
Virat Kohli will once lead the side, with Ajinkya Rahane as his deputy.
Meanwhile, batsman KL Rahul and wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha will only travel to the United Kingdom after passing the fitness test. While Rahul is recuperating from his appendicitis surgery, Saha is under the weather for testing positive for COVID-19.
As witnessed in Australia early in the year, the selection committee has also named a list of standby players. Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Arzan Nagwaswalla will also travel with the Indian cricket team.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja returns to the side after missing out on the home Tests against England. The southpaw had injured his shoulder in Australia last year. Middle-order batsman, Hanuma Vihari also makes his return after tearing his hamstring in the famous SCG Test. Unfortunately, Hardik Pandya, who appears to be struggling with his shoulder has been ignored.
India are scheduled to play New Zealand in the WTC final on June 18 in Southampton. India sealed their spot in the finals of the Test Championship after beating England 3-1 at home in March this year. The England Tests will start on August 4.
Indian squad for WTC final: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav
Featured photo: AFP / David Gray
