 "Both Akash Deep and Abhimanyu Easwaran have been picked in India's Test squad for Australia tour. Image: PTI")
The much-awaited Indian Test squad for the upcoming five-match Test series in Australia was announced by the BCCI’s senior men’s selection committee on Friday. They also announced the squad for India’s tour of South Africa.
Team India are scheduled to play five Test during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia which will start in Perth on 22 November but before that, they will take on South Africa in a four-match T20 series away from with the first T20I in Durban on 8th November.
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
The BCCI selectors have picked a mega 18-member squad for the Australia tour including three uncapped players – opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, fast bowler Harshit Rana and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Mohammed Shami has not been included as he is still to recover from the ankle surgery, while Kuldeep Yadav was rested as “he has been referred to the BCCI Centre of Excellence after the end of the ongoing Test series against New Zealand for long term resolution of his chronic left groin issue”.
Rohit Sharma has been named the captain and Jasprit Bumrah will be his vice-captain. Rohit, however, is expected to miss one of the first two Tests and in his absence, Easwaran can make his debut.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsApart from Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, and Harshit Rana are the other pacers in the squad, while Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed are part of the reserves.
R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar are the three spinners in the squad while Nitish Kumar Reddy is the only seam-bowling all-rounder.
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, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed
Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Full Schedule:
| S. No. | Date (From) | Date (To) | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Friday | 22-Nov-24 | Tuesday | 26-Nov-24 |
| 2 | Friday | 6-Dec-24 | Tuesday | 10-Dec-24 |
| 3 | Saturday | 14-Dec-24 | Wednesday | 18-Dec-24 |
| 4 | Thursday | 26-Dec-24 | Monday | 30-Dec-24 |
| 5 | Friday | 3-Jan-25 | Tuesday | 7-Jan-25 |
India’s squad for 4 T20Is against South Africa: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.