Press Trust of India
Mumbai, Nov 2: All-rounder Hardik Pandya earned his maiden Test call-up even as senior speedster Ishant Sharma made a comeback to the 15-member Indian squad announced here Wednesday for the first two Test matches against England. The first Test starts November 9, in Rajkot.
While KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were left out due to fitness related issues, batsman Rohit Sharma was also out forced out by a thigh injury which might require surgery.
Veteran opener Gautam Gambhir was retained in the squad after scoring a half century in the Indore Test against New Zealand.
Karun Nair is the reserve batsman and Jayant Yadav is the fourth spinner in the squad after Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra.
The pace duo of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav retained their places in the side. Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay, on the other hand, were automatic inclusions.
The selection committee chaired by MSK Prasad fielded maximum queries regarding Pandya’s inclusion in the Test squad. “Yes, I do agree he (Hardik) has not played much of first class cricket. But going by his form, at some point of time all of us have to agree that we need to identify the right all-rounders. He is one among the top all-rounders we have,” informed Prasad.
“After the Australia A tour, if you look, his pace has increased, he is able to move the ball much better, his batting skills have increased and overall his personality has just mellowed down. He has really matured as a cricketer under Rahul Dravid,” added Prasad. “And we all know that he is a brilliant fielder.”
About Karun, who was included as a standby in the final Test at Indore, Prasad said: “We have been grooming him (Karun) for the last one or two years.”
The chairman said Bhuvneshwar has recovered from his back injury but the selection committee wanted the UP seamer to at least play one Ranji Trophy game and prove his match fitness. Similar was the case of Rahul (hamstring) and Dhawan (finger fracture).
Moving away from convention for a home series, the selectors also named Ajinkya Rahane as the vice-captain to take charge of the team if and when captain Kohli leaves the field, Prasad stated.
About retaining Gambhir, who was recalled to the Test squad in the series against New Zealand after a two-year absence, Prasad said the selectors thought very hard before including any player but once selected they want to give the player a ‘fair chance’ to show his mettle.
The squad
Virat Kohli (captain), Murali Vijay, Gautam Gambhir, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Jayant Yadav.