India announce squad for T20I and Test series against Sri Lanka; Rohit named Test captain, Pujara and Rahane dropped

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named the squad for the upcoming 3-match T20I and 2-match Test series against Sri Lanka. The Indian selection committee headed by Chetan Sharma announced the 18-member squad for the T20I and Test series against Sri Lanka.

Ravindra Jadeja and Sanju Samson have returned to India’s T20 squad as both of them have recovered sufficiently from injuries while Shardul Thakur has been rested for both the T20I and Test series. 

Jasprit Bumrah, who had been rested for the white-ball series at home against West Indies, also returned to the squad, as vice-captain in both formats.

Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant, who had exited the Kolkata bubble after helping India wrap up the T20I series against West Indies, have been rested for the T20I series against Sri Lanka.

Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli have been rested for the third and final T20I against West Indies and the T20I series against Sri Lanka. They have exited the team bio-bubble in Kolkata. KL Rahul and Washington Sundar are yet to fully recover and were not available for selection for the Sri Lanka series. 

Rohit Sharma has been appointed as the Test captain and he would thus be leading the Indian team across formats. The senior players including the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ishant Sharma, and Wriddhiman Saha have been excluded from the setup and notable inclusions of KS Bharat, Saurabh Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav have been made with an eye on the future in red-ball cricket.

Axar Patel is currently undergoing his rehab and is not available for selection for the first Test. He will be assessed later to ascertain his selection for the second Test.

India’s T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Avesh Khan.

India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, R. Ashwin (subject to fitness clearance), Kuldeep Yadav, Saurabh Kumar, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain).

The first T20I match will be played at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on 24 February. The second and third T20Is will take place in Dharamsala on 26 and 27 February.

The first Test will now be held in Mohali from March 4th to 8th and the second Test will be played from March 12th to 16th in Bengaluru.