Who Is in and Who Is Out of the India Squad for the Last Three England Tests?

Even though there wasn’t much time between the second and third Tests, there was still plenty of excitement around the unveiling of the India lineup for the remaining matches against England.

Virat Kohli pulled out of the India team for the first two Test matches a few days before to the start of the series, with the intention of playing again at a later date. Later rumors, meanwhile, indicate that the top hitter may wind up sitting out the whole series.

Add to that the uncertainty around KL Rahul’s and Ravindra Jadeja’s fitness.

Following a few days of anticipation, the selectors for the Indian men’s team finally announced the lineup. In a press statement, BCCI confirmed that Kohli had notified them that he would not be available for the next three matches.

The BCCI announced a 17-man India team on Saturday morning. Here’s a look at who was selected and who wasn’t.

THE INs

Rahul and Jadeja, the injured pair, have been added to the list of riders whose participation is contingent only upon receiving fitness clearance from the BCCI medical staff. India won the Vizag Test by 106 runs to tie the five-match series at one all. Rahul had complained of soreness in his right quadriceps, while Jadeja had injured his hamstring.

Akash Deep, an uncapped fast bowler, received his first-ever call-up to the India Test team. During the informal Test series between India A and England Lions, the 27-year-old fast bowler showed promise, collecting 13 wickets in three matches.

The OUTs

Shreyas Iyer, a middle-order batsman, has been left out of the Test team. Iyer lost his spot in the first two Tests against England after scoring 35, 13, 27, and 29 in the first four innings. Iyer had only scored 50 once in his previous ten Test innings.

After being called up for the second Test, Avesh Khan has also been excluded from the team. The fast bowler was included in the inaugural Test team for India, however he was rested for the Ranji Trophy match between Madhya Pradesh and Puducherry.

After being called up for the second Test, uncapped all-rounder Sourabh Kumar of Uttar Pradesh was also left off the roster.

Following the injuries to Rahul and Jadeja, Sarfaraz Khan, who was called up for the first time for the Vizag match, and all-rounder Washington Sundar have retained their spots. Sourabh was also included to the second Test squad.

The following players are part of the India squad for the remaining three Tests: R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul*, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), R Ashwin, Shubman Gill, Mohd. Siraj, Mohd. Akash Deep