The India squad for the first two Tests of the five-match series against England announced on Friday, threw up a couple of minor surprises. First, a 16-member squad has been announced instead of 15, which is usually the custom for a home series. Also, the squad has three wicket-keepers – KL Rahul, KS Bharat and the newcomer Dhruv Jurel. Without a press conference, there’s room for conjecture and it feels like the squad has been bloated to accommodate an extra ‘keeper.
Ishan Kishan wasn’t considered, as he hasn’t yet made himself available to play for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy. Only a couple of days earlier, Rahul Dravid, the India team head coach, said that the ‘keeper-batsman needed to play domestic cricket to be considered for Indian team selection. Kishan opted out of the Test series in South Africa and was subsequently dropped for the ongoing home T20I series against Afghanistan.
Wicket-keeping is going to be of huge importance on turning pitches and the Indian team has four spinners – Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav – who will pose different challenges to the gloveman. And the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel seems to be unsure about who could be the best fit.
This is ostensibly a reason why three wicket-keepers – Bharat, Jurel and Pradosh Ranjan Paul – have been included in the India A side as well, for their first unofficial Test against England Lions that is being played in Ahmedabad. But it is interesting that Jurel is donning the big gloves despite Bharat being the senior-most. The selectors clearly look at the 22-year-old from Uttar Pradesh as a strong option, although it is believed that Bharat will be the team management’s preferred choice in the Test series opener in Hyderabad from January 25.
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🚨 India’s squad for first two Tests announced
Squad for first 2 Tests vs England: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd.…
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There’s suddenly a ‘keeping void in the Indian team post-Rishabh Pant’s unfortunate car accident and his steady recovery notwithstanding, it is not known when he could be back to competitive action. Rahul kept wickets in South Africa and occasionally looked troubled against Ashwin, including a dropped catch in the first Test. India are expected to play against England on rank turners and the hosts need a specialist for the job.
Bharat played the home series against Australia last year and did a decent job. But modern-day ‘keepers are expected to contribute with the bat as well and the 30-year-old doesn’t inspire much confidence in that regard. In five Tests so far, he has scored just 129 runs at an average of 18.42.
Jurel ticks both boxes, at least in first-class cricket. In 15 games so far, he has scored 790 runs, including a century and a five half-centuries. Recently, he scored fifty for India A in a four-day game against South Africa A in Benoni. He has also taken 34 catches and effected two stumpings. However, unless the Indian team management is thinking out of the box, Jurel is going into Test cricket as Bharat’s understudy to start with.
The 16-member squad has five specialist batsmen, three wicket-keepers, four spinners and as many fast bowlers. Avesh Khan, who was drafted into the squad for the second Test in South Africa, has found a place. Prasidh Krishna, meanwhile, is nursing a quadriceps injury and has been left out. As for Mohammed Shami, who is recovering from an ankle injury, the senior fast bowler is expected to be fit for the last three Tests.
Squad for first two Tests vs England: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan
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