The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named a 16-man strong squad for the first two Tests vs England. As expected, Rohit Sharma will lead the team as India aim to strengthen their position in the World Test Championship standings. Shubman Gill too keeps his place despite the low returns in South Africa while Yashasvi Jaiswal will continue to play the opener’s role. 

A surprise name has been included in the squad in form of wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel as Ishan Kishan misses out on the selection. It was earlier reported that the board was upset with the attitude of Kishan who had gone to party in Dubai after takin a break from international cricket due to mental fatigue.

Mohammed Shami is another big name missing from the Test squad as he continues to recover from the ankle injury. Hopefully, Shami will be available for selection in the last 3 Tests of the series. In case you did not know, England are coming to India to play 5 Tests which begins on January 25 in Hyderabad. 

India Squad for first 2 Tests vs England: Rohit Sharma (C ), S Gill, Y Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, S Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan.