NEW DELHI, Jan 13
Stumper Ishan Kishan’s absence from the team after reportedly asking for a break, continued as the national selectors named Uttar Pradesh’s Dhruv Jurel as the lone fresh face in the Indian squad for the first two Tests against England. The selectors also recalled Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel in the spin-heavy squad along with the regulars Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Ashwin, a veteran of 95 Tests is 10 shy of achieving 500 wickets, and the five-match series against England could help him get to the landmarks. Mohammed Shami, who is working his way back from an ankle injury, is a notable absentee, though in the pace department, led by vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah and includes Mohd Siraj, Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan.
Jurel earned his maiden call-up to the India side – across formats as the back-up keeper to KL Rahul, who had kept wickets in the two Tests in South Africa, and KS Bharat.
Jurel had recently scored a half-century for India A in a four-day first-class fixture against South Africa A in Benoni and is currently playing against Lions in Ahmedabad. In all, he has played 15 first-class games and averages nearly 47. In the 2023 IPL, he was in red-hot form, scoring 152 runs at a strike rate of 173 for the Rajasthan Royals.
However, Prasidh Krishna, who made his Test debut in Centurion, was not named in the squad. The fast bowler had sustained a quadriceps injury on the first day of Karnataka’s second-round Ranji Trophy clash against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. Shardul Thakur, who flopped with both bat and ball in South Africa was dropped.
The five-match series against England will begin in Hyderabad on January 25 and will be part of the World Test Championship (WTC). India are currently second on the WTC points table, behind defending champions Australia.
India squad for first two Tests against England: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Avesh Khan.
