India rested pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Tuesday for next month’s one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh.
Bumrah plays all three formats and concerns were raised about the workload of the seamer, who is currently playing for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.
Jadeja has been rested, while fellow spin-bowling all-rounder Axar Patel was ignored for the Test beginning on June 6.
“Ravindra Jadeja is an integral part of the team,” chairman of the selection committee Ajit Agarkar told a virtual news conference.
“We are trying to give opportunities to other players. It’s for this test that we have not picked him.”
KL Rahul has replaced Rishabh Pant as the vice-captain in the Test side led by Shubman Gill.
“KL provides us the necessary experience that you need just in case. He obviously had a really good trip of England, and did well against West Indies,” Agarkar said.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Manav Suthar and fast bowler Gurnoor Brar received maiden call-ups to the test squad.
Veteran Virat Kohli, who has quit Tests and T20 internationals, has been included in India’s one-day squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan that follows the one-off Test. The ODIs are scheduled for June 14, 17 and 20.
Former captain Rohit Sharma has also been included, but his and all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s selections are subject to fitness.
India Test squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Dhruv Jurel
India ODI squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey.
Source: Khaleej Times