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Gautam Gambhir has been retained in the 15-man squad that will be playing England in the upcoming five-match test series set to begin within a week’s time. While Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul are out for injury concerns, Gautam Gambhir has been provided yet another lifeline to extend his stay in international cricket.
Another notable omission in the squad is Rohit Sharma who has been forced to stay out of cricket for at least six months due to an injury which he suffered while running between the wickets in the final match against New Zealand. And it has somewhat forced the selectors led by MSK Prasad to name Hardik Pandya as an all-rounder in place of Rohit Sharma ahead of Stuart Binny. The chairman of the selection committee highlighted the increased pace in his bowling, his batsmanship and the athleticism in his fielding while justifying Pandya’s selection ahead of Binny. Pandya made his T20I debut earlier this year while his ODI Debut was against the Kiwis in the recently concluded one-day series also marked his first man-of-the-match award.
Ishant Sharma will also be making his comeback following his ailments which kept him out of the game during the series against the visitors from the southern hemisphere. He will be replacing Bhuvaneshwar Kumar who has still been nursing an injury which he got during the second test match at Kolkata. Uncapped players Jayant Yadav and Karun Nair have been retained from the squad against the Black Caps. This will provide Virat Kohli plenty of options in the spinning department while Ishant’s comeback will provide experience to already decent looking pace bowling attack which includes Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav.
Otherwise, the same team has been retained from the recently concluded New Zealand series. Chesteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli himself, AjinkyaRahane will marshal the middle order while Wriddhiman Saha will be up there behind the wickets. Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin will handle the spin department. Amit Mishra has also been retained following his man-of-the-series and man-of-the-match award winning performances in the 3-2 victory against the Kiwis in the one-dayers.
Virat Kohli and his boys would be up against the Englishmen for the first test match at Rajkot beginning on the ninth of this month which would be followed by four test matches at Vishakhapatnam, Mohali, Mumbai and Chennai. England would be coming from Bangladesh having drawn the two-match test series 1-1. Whereas India will be upbeat to hold the Englishmen by the scruff of their neck through spin bowling. Last time England beat India 2-1 in the four-match Test series winning two consecutive matches at the Wankhede and the Eden Gardens. However, things will be much tighter when Virat Kohli and his boys are taking the field on the first day of the test match at Rajkot.
India squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Murali Vijay, Jayant Yadav and Umesh Yadav.
Indian Squad for England Test Series
Virat Kohli (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Murali Vijay, Jayant Yadav and Umesh Yadav.
India vs England Test Match Series Schedule
- First Test: Date – November 9-13; Venue – Rajkot
- Second Test: Date – November 17-21; Venue –Visakhapatnam
- Third Test: Date – November 26-30; Venue – Mohali
- Fourth Test: Date – December 8-12; Venue –Mumbai
- Fifth Test: Date – December 16-20; Venue –Chennai
India vs England Test Match Series TV Guide
- Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD 1
Will this be a cakewalk for India or Will England come hard against the top-ranked test playing nation? The answer will get revealed when Virat Kohli will be out there in the centre with the coin in hand.
