India vs Sri Lanka: Rohit Sharma made India’s Test captain; Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara dropped from Test squad; Virat Kohli rested

The All-India Senior Selection Committee chairman Chetan Sharma on Saturday announced India’s squad for the upcoming three-match T20I and two-match Test Series against Sri Lanka.

Rohit Sharma was named as India’s new Test captain, replacing Virat Kohli. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane who have recently struggled in the international arena have been dropped from India’s Test squad.

Senior wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha and experienced pacer Ishant Sharma were also left out of the Tests.

Sri Lanka’s tour will begin with a three-match T20 series starting 24 February and will be followed by the five-day matches from 4 March.

Rookie Uttar Pradesh left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar was the only new face in the 18-member squad.

Ahead of the T20I series, the selection committee decided to give Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant a break, while Shardul Thakur was rested for the entire Sri Lanka series.

Meanwhile, Washington Sudar and KL Rahul were ruled out of the entire series.

Ravichandran Ashwin will be available subject to his fitness, while Axar Patel is still recovering and is expected to be fit for the second Test.

“The selection committee deliberated a lot on Rahane and Pujara. We told them we will not consider them against Sri Lanka but doors are open for them. We told them to go and play Ranji Trophy,” Sharma told reporters during a virtual press conference.

India T20 squad:

Rohit Sharma (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Sanju Samson (wk) Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan

India Test squad:

Rohit Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat
R Ashwin (subject to fitness), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (vc) Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Saurabh Kumar

Schedule:

1st T20I: 24 February (Lucknow)

2nd T20I: 26 February (Dharamsala)

3rd T20I: 27 February (Dharamsala)

1st Test: 4-8 March (Mohali)

2nd Test: 12-16 March (Bengaluru)

With inputs from PTI

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.