Just after the historic win at the Gabba against Australia, Team India has announced their squads for the first two Tests against England. The Test series which is set to begin from February 5, will witness the return of skipper Virat Kohli who had travelled back home after the first Test against Australia for the birth of his first child. The selection panel led by Chetan Sharma has also brought back veteran speedster Ishant Sharma, who had been ruled out of the Australia tour with an injury whereas Hardik Pandya will also don the whites despite having lost his father a few days ago.
Without Mohammad Shami and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, the Indian team has put its faith in young guns Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur, who've had played brilliantly in Test series Down Under. In the spin department, Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar along with Kuldeep Yadav have retained their spots while Axar Patel has been called in to fill Ravindra Jadeja's shoes, who sustained an injury during the Australia tour.
The squad also includes KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah, both of whom sustained injuries down under. Moreover, KS Bharat, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shahbaz Nadeem and Rahul Chahar have been named four stand-byes who will be inducted into the squad in case of anyone from the main squad was to be replaced.
Full Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel