Team India for the Border Gavaskar series against Australia has been announced on Friday. The Team India will tour Australia next month, where it will play a five-match Test series.
At the same time, Team India has also been announced for the T20 series against South Africa.
Rohit Sharma was named as captain for all five Tests against Australia. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana make their debut while Abhimanyu Easwaran beat Ruturaj Gaikwad as the third opener. Kuldeep Yadav is not a part of the team due to back pain. Fast bowler Mohammed Shami has not been fully fit yet. He has also not got a place in the team.
Easwaran pipped Gaikwad on sheer weightage of runs. The Bengal cricketer will tour with the India A side before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy kickstarts. He scored four consecutive centuries in the last four matches spread across the Duleep Trophy, Irani Cup and Ranji Trophy.
Contrary to the reports, there was no official announcement about Rohit's unavailability for the first half of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was named captain for all five Tests in the official release issued by BCCI on Friday.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, like the New Zealand series, was named as vice-captain of the 18-member squad.
BCCI did not give out any details about Shami's fitness but added that left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep, who was dropped from the ongoing second Test against New Zealand, was unavailable.
“Kuldeep Yadav was unavailable for selection for the tour of Australia since the end of the ongoing Test series against New Zealand,” BCCI added. Shami, who is supposed to turn up for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, might be added to the Indian squad if he proves his match fitness. Reddy, who made his T20I debut against Bangladesh earlier this month, was picked as the only seam-bowling all-rounder over Shardul Thakur, who played a crucial role in India's historic victory at the Gabba three years ago.
In Shami's absence, the pace battery will largely depend on vice-captain Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. The third seamer, in all probability, will be Akash Deep while Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana are backups.
Delhi pacer Harshit Rana reaped rewards for his stunning show in the Duleep Trophy.
Three fast bowlers – Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed – were named as traveling reserves.
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed
India vs Australia, Border-Gavaskar Trophy schedule
The India vs Australia Border-Gavaskar Trophy will begin with the first Test in Perth starting on November 22. The second Test will be a Day/Night affair at the Adelaide Oval starting on December 6. The teams will then travel to Brisbane for the third Test from December 14. The 4th Test in Melbourne will begin from December 26 and the last Test in Sydney from January 3.
India-S Africa T20 Series
Before procedding to Australia for 5-match series, India will play 4 T-20 matches against S Africa in Xouth Africa. The T-20 matches will be played on November 8, 10, 13 and 15 November.
India's team for 4 T-20 matches against South Africa
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakraborty, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vaishak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.