India has selected Abhimanyu Easwaran, Harshit Rana, and Nitish Reddy in the 18-man squad for the highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Test series, which kicks off on November 22 in Perth.
Kuldeep Yadav has been left out as he has been referred to the BCCI Centre of Excellence following the current Test series against New Zealand for long-term treatment of his chronic left groin issue.
India squad:
| Player Name |
|---|
| 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 |
| Mohammad Siraj |
| Akash Deep |
| Prasidh Krishna |
| Harshit Rana |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy |
| Washington Sundar |
Reserves:
| Reserves |
|---|
| Mukesh Kumar |
| Navdeep Saini |
| Khaleel Ahmed |
Bengal’s run machine, Abhimanyu Easwaran, has been recognized for his consistent domestic performances and will join the squad as the third-choice opener alongside Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Easwaran enters the series with a century in each of his last four first-class matches, including the Duleep Trophy, Ranji Trophy, and Irani Cup.
India has opted not to include Mohammed Shami, who is recovering from injury, but remains well-equipped in the pace department with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj leading the attack.
Akash Deep retains his place following strong performances against England and Bangladesh, while Prasidh Krishna returns to the Test squad after debuting in South Africa earlier this year.
The Karnataka pacer successfully completed a lengthy rehabilitation for a stress fracture and was instrumental in India A’s Duleep Trophy title victory last month.
Fast bowler Harshit Rana caps off an outstanding 2024, which included an IPL title win, with a Test call-up after being included in the white-ball squads.
Andhra’s medium-pace all-rounder, Nitish Reddy, follows a similar trajectory, earning a Test call-up after a successful IPL and T20I debut.
India is also bringing along pace reserves Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, and Khaleel Ahmed.
Washington Sundar, who is making an impactful return to red-ball cricket after debuting on India’s previous tour of Australia, has also been selected, while Axar Patel has been left out.
The tour schedule
| Tests | Venue | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Perth Stadium, Perth | November 22-26 |
| 2nd (D/N) | Adelaide Oval | December 6-10 |
| 3rd | The Gabba, Brisbane | December 14-18 |
| 4th | MCG, Melbourne | December 26-30 |
| 5th | SCG, Sydney | January 3-7 |
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