Picture Credit: Twitter
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday announced a 17-member squad for the fifth rescheduled Test against England. Rohit Sharma will be leading the side. Cheteshwar Pujara who faced a Test snub after a run of poor performances has made a comeback to the side. Meanwhile, Prasidh Krishna has also been included in the 17-member side.
KL Rahul has been named as Rohit's deputy for the Test against England. Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, and Shreyas Iyer have also been added to the squad. With Wriddhiman Saha no more a part of India's Test setup, Andhra Pradesh wicketkeeper batter KS Bharat has been added as the backup wicketkeeper.
The selectors have shown faith in an injured Ravindra Jadeja who was ruled out of IPL 2022 with a bruised rib. R Ashwin is the second spinner in India's squad. Meanwhile, the pace attack remains almost the same as last time when India toured England. Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, and Mohammed Siraj have retained their places.
India’s Test Squad - Rohit Sharma (C), 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, Prasidh Krishna
India leading 2-1
As this Test will be a part of India's tour to England last year, the Rohit Sharma-led side will have a chance to script history. Before this last Test got canceled due to multiple COVID-19 cases in the Indian camp, the visitors were leading 2-1 and looked all set to win the series. The first match of the five-match series ended in a draw with rain playing a spoilsport.
Nonetheless, India continued their dominance in the second Test as they claimed the match by 151 runs. But the next Test saw then Virat Kohli-led side losing by an innings and 76 runs. This loss raised a lot of questions about India failing to beat a relatively-weaker England side. The answer was pretty clear from the visitors as they beat England by a massive 157 runs in the next game to take a 2-1 lead.
