Fast bowler Umesh Yadav will return to the Indian side for the pink-ball Test against England in Ahmedabad if he clears the fitness test, announced BCCI on Wednesday while naming the India Test squad for the final two matches of the four-match series against England.
Umesh, who had flown back home after playing the second Test in Australia due to an injury will replace Shardul Thakur in the Indian Test squad if the former passes the fitness assessment. Thakur will be released to take part in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, starting from February 20.
“Umesh Yadav will join the team in Ahmedabad and after his fitness assessment will replace Shardul Thakur, who will be released for Vijay Hazare Trophy,” said BCCI in a release.
There were reports that fast bowlers Mohammed Shami and Navdeep Saini might return to the squad but it appears that they haven’t regained full fitness.
Another crucial player who missed out because of an injury was all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
India squad for the final two Tests against England: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (Vice-captain), KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Md. Siraj.
The selection committee, which met on Wednesday also picked five net bowlers and two players as standbys.
Net Bowlers: Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Warrier, Krishnappa Gowtham, Saurabh Kumar
Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shahbaz Nadeem and Priyank Panchal, who were kept as standbys till the second Test have been released for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
After losing the first Test by 227 runs, India came back strongly to register their biggest win against England – 317 runs – to make it 1-1.
The two teams will next face each other in the pink-ball Test in Ahmedabad starting from February 24, which will only be the second day-night Test match in India.
While it is more or less certain that Jasprit Bumrah will return to the Indian XI for the pink-ball Test, another interesting inclusion could be that of Hardik Pandya’s. The all-rounder was one of the firsts in the Indian team to practicing with the pink ball. His selection would, however, depend on whether he if fit enough to bowl in the longest format of the game.
