India squad vs England for Last 3 Tests: Virat Kohli will miss the remainder of the Test series against England as he continues to tend to his family emergency. The BCCI has announced the squad for the last three Test matches against Ben Stokes’ side.
Shreyas Iyer has been dropped, while Bengal pacer Akash Deep gets his maiden India Test squad call-up. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the second Test due to injuries, have been named in the squad, but their participation is subject to fitness clearance. Sarfaraz Khan has also held on to his place in the squad but is unlikely to make his debut anytime soon.
Mohammed Siraj, who was rested from the second Test, returns, while Mukesh Kumar has retained his place in the squad. Avesh Khan has been released to play in the Ranji Trophy. And, contrary to some earlier reports, Jasprit Bumrah will not be rested in the third Test.
The series stands level at 1-1. The third Test will start on February 15 in Rajkot, before the action moves to Ranchi and Dharamsala.
India squad vs England for Last 3 Tests: Update on Virat Kohli
The 35-year-old former India captain is reportedly in London with his family. Kohli had landed in Hyderabad to prepare for the series but pulled out from the first two Tests, citing personal reasons. He has not made himself available for the next three Tests either. This will be the first time since his Test debut in 2011 that Kohli will miss an entire Test series.
KL Rahul, if fit for the Rajkot Test, will straightaway slot in at number 4, the position that is now vacated with Iyer being dropped. Iyer has averaged only 17 in 7 Tests since 2023.
If Jadeja is also fit, India will have a conundrum regarding their bowling combination. Do they play only one pacer in Bumrah and pick four spinners after Kuldeep Yadav bowled brilliantly in Vizag?
Also, even though KS Bharat has been retained, young Dhruv Jurel could make his Test debut in Rajkot.
India Test squad vs England for last three Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, KL Rahul*, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja*, KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep
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