Indian selectors in mumbai to pick the squad for the upcoming home series against England, which begins on 9th November in Rajkot.
The biggest news was Gautam Gambhir retaining his spot, after a short stint in the last match of India’s last Test match against New Zealand. Gambhir, who replaced injured KL Rahul in the squad after the first Test match, scored a fifty in the second innings and backed up with a hundred in a Ranji Trophy match for Delhi.
KL Rahul, who suffered a hamstring injury during the New Zealand series, failed to make a place as there was a question mark over his fitness. He also didn’t show up for Karnataka, his state team, for the third round of the Ranji Trophy.
Another interesting bit of news was the selection of Hardik Pandya. Hardik Pandya has been picked for the first time in Test squad. He made his ODI debut for India in the recently concluded New Zealand series which India won 3-2.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was also left out due to fitness related issues. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were also dropped for fitness issues.
India squad for first two Tests against England
Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, Gautam Gambhir, Karun Nair, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Shamra
