The Indian cricket team’s lineup for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia was officially announced on Friday. The tour will commence next month, featuring a five-match Test series on Australian soil. Additionally, the squad for the T20 series against South Africa was revealed simultaneously.
Rohit Sharma has been appointed as the captain for all five Test matches against Australia, with Jasprit Bumrah serving as the vice-captain. The squad introduces two newcomers: Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana. Abhimanyu Easwaran has been selected as the third opener, beating out Ruturaj Gaikwad, thanks to his impressive recent performances.
Notably, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav is absent due to back pain, and seasoned fast bowler Mohammed Shami has not made the squad, as he has yet to achieve full fitness. Shami, who is scheduled to participate in the Ranji Trophy for Bengal, may join the squad if he meets the necessary fitness benchmarks.
Easwaran’s selection is attributed to his recent batting achievements. The Bengal cricketer’s stellar run includes four consecutive centuries, achieved across the Duleep Trophy, Irani Cup, and Ranji Trophy matches. He will also tour with the India A team ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Contrary to earlier reports suggesting that Rohit Sharma might miss part of the series, the BCCI has confirmed that he will captain all five Tests. This dispels speculation and aligns with the official squad announcement released on Friday.
With Shami unavailable, the pace attack will heavily rely on Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and likely Akash Deep as the third seamer. Backup options include Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana, with the latter earning his place based on impressive performances in the Duleep Trophy. Delhi pacer Harshit Rana’s standout display in domestic matches has now earned him a spot in the national squad.
Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav was left out of the squad due to a back injury that has also kept him out of the current New Zealand series. The BCCI noted that Kuldeep had been unavailable since the end of the New Zealand series and didn’t provide additional updates on Shami’s condition.
Complete Indian Squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Jasprit Bumrah (Vice-Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (Wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (Wicketkeeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Traveling Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy Schedule: The series will start with the first Test in Perth on November 22. The second match will be a Day/Night Test at Adelaide Oval from December 6. This will be followed by the third Test in Brisbane on December 14. The teams will then move to Melbourne for the fourth Test starting on December 26, with the final Test in Sydney commencing on 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.
