Jadeja, Vihari return as India announce extended squad for marquee England summer
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and middle-order batter Hanuma Vihari have made comebacks in India’s Test squad announced on Friday (May 7) for the marquee summer in the UK.
Jadeja and Vihari, who missed out on the home series in February-March due to respective injuries, are part of the extended touring party for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand and the five-Test series versus England.
Vihari tore his hamstring during his heroic batting effort that helped India save the New Year’s Test in Sydney earlier this year and had been out of action until recently. The middle-order batsman, with the experience of 12 Tests under his belt, is in England right now playing for Warwickshire in the County Championship.
Jadeja also had been out from the game till the recently suspended Indian Premier League (IPL), as he went through an extended rehabilitation period after sustaining a thumb injury, which he picked up while facing left-arm quick Mitchell Starc’s bouncer during the Sydney Test.
India’s premier all-rounder, who has grown in stature with his performances in either department in the last 2-3 years, missed the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Brisbane and the entire all-format home series versus England.
Jadeja, Vihari return as India announce extended squad for marquee England summer
Apart from those two, India’s Test squad for the all-important UK summer retains nearly the same outlook it had for the home series against England, with the noticeable exclusion of fast-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
As was being reported, the Chetan Sharma led selection panel chose to look past Hardik since he hasn’t yet resumed bowling on a regular basis.
There was no space for the rejuvenated Prithvi Shaw, either, despite the opening batsman showing fantastic form in white-ball cricket in the past few months.
There were speculations that pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar might make a comeback to the Test squad after two years because of his ability to swing the ball, making him a lethal weapon in English conditions. However, with Bhuvneshwar’s fitness emerging as a big issue in the past two seasons, the selectors haven’t gone down that path.
Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur make up the main touring pace attack. Ravichandran Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar Patel and also young Washington Sundar feature in the spin department.
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal and also KL Rahul, whose selection is subject to fitness clearance, are the four first-choice opening batters in a line-up where Cheteshwar Pujara, skipper Virat Kohli and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane hold the middle-order responsibility.
Experienced gloveman Wriddhiman Saha is another player whose inclusion is subject to fitness clearance after he tested positive for COVID-19 during the IPL 2021. Surprisingly, Rishabh Pant is the only other wicketkeeper named in the squad.
The selectors also picked a few standbys – Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla – in the enlarged travelling party.
The final of the World Test Championship will be held in Southampton from June 18th to 22nd. Given the travelling restrictions amid the pandemic, Indian players are expected to remain in the UK through July and play some intra-squad matches ahead of the England Test series, beginning August 4 in Trent Bridge.
India’s Test squad: Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance) Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (WK), Wriddhiman Saha (WK, subject to fitness clearence) Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav.
Standy players: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla