Workforce India have introduced a Rohit Sharma-led 18-man squad for the postponed Check in opposition to England, which will likely be performed between July 1-5 at Edgbaston. KL Rahul, who’ll come straight from main India’s second-string T20I aspect in opposition to South Africa at dwelling, will likely be Rohit’s vice-captain and opening associate.
Shubman Gill is the staff’s solely backup opener following Mayank Agarwal’s mediocre Check stints in opposition to Sri Lanka and South Africa and a poor IPL 2022 marketing campaign.
The most important spotlight of the squad is Cheteshwar Pujara’s return. The veteran No. 3 batter was dropped on account of his lack of huge scores during the last two years. He has now been rewarded for his gorgeous county stint at Sussex, the place he averaged 120 with 4 centuries (two of them being double-centuries) in simply eight innings.
Former vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, who was additionally dropped alongside Pujara for related causes, has remained out of the staff. The precise-hander did properly within the Ranji Trophy however suffered a hamstring harm within the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) final match of IPL 2022, which has dominated him out of all cricket for no less than a number of weeks.
Virat Kohli, who led the squad to a 2-1 lead within the collection in 2021 earlier than the ultimate recreation was postponed, is prone to proceed to bat at No. 4. Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari give the batting division some depth. Rishabh Pant and KS Bharat would be the two wicketkeepers for the collection.
The bowlers and all-rounders are virtually the identical as they had been within the first 4 Assessments of the 2021 tour. Solely Ishant Sharma, who was dropped for the Sri Lanka collection, and Axar Patel missed out. The left-arm finger spinner is within the squad for the T20Is in opposition to South Africa in India and wouldn’t have been wanted in England for only a solitary match.
India’s squad for England Check
Rohit Sharma (Capt), KL Rahul (VC), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohd Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Prasidh Krishna