India vs Australia: Bumrah not in the squad, Unadkat included
On Friday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Team India squad for the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia. As expected, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has not been included as the selectors don't want to rush him. Interestingly, this has helped domestic cricket hero, Javdev Unadkat to book a spot. Here are more details.
Here is the complete squad
Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, and Suryakumar Yadav.
SKY and Kishan are interesting additions
Apart from Unadkat, two other names stand out: wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan, and the number one T20I batter, Suryakumar Yadav. Kishan's maiden call-up comes on the back of decent credentials in First Class cricket. He has scored 2,985 runs at an average of 38.76. The board clarified that Jadeja's inclusion is subject to fitness.
The first Test starts on February 9
The first Test between India and Australia starts on February 9. It would be played in Nagpur while the second Test (17-21 February) will be played in Delhi. This 4-match series is critical for India as a winning margin of 2-0 or better would ensure that they secure a spot in the World Test Championship finale.
