Picture Credit: X
Rohit Sharma-led Men in Blue are taking on England in the third Test at the newly renamed Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. With the series currently levelled 1-1, Team India won the toss and opted to bat first. But as the toss, skipper Rohit Sharma called for four changes in the side, including two players making their debut.
While Sarfaraz Khan was handed his debut Test cap by Anil Kumble, veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik honoured Dhruv Jurel with the Test cap. Moreover, Rohit at toss revealed that Axar Patel as well as Mukesh Kumar will miss out, making way for Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja, who comes after recovering from hamstring injury. However, the reason of their exclusion wasn’t revealed at the toss, BCCI took to X (formerly Twitter) to inform that Mukesh Kumar has been released from the side.
“Mr Mukesh Kumar has been released from the India squad for the third Test against England in Rajkot. He will join his Ranji Trophy team, Bengal, for the team’s next fixture before linking up with Team India in Ranchi,” BCCI stated in their update on X.
Moreover, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also confirmed that he will join the side for the Ranchi Test, scheduled to be played from February 23 till February 27 at the JSCA International Stadium Complex.
India’s Playing XI for third Test against England:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Mohammed Siraj.
