KL Rahul Lead Indian Squad – After losing the ODI series by 1-2, the Indian team has shifted its focus to the Test series, which is crucial to winning to qualify for the World Test Championship final.
Still, they have faced a massive setback in the absence of their skipper Rohit Sharma, who, initially has been ruled out of the first Test but is doubtful to feature in the second and final Test as well.
It’s worth remembering that he hurt his left thumb while fielding in the second ODI against Bangladesh last week, an injury he is still recovering from.
Yesterday, BCCI released a statement announcing his absence:
“India captain Rohit Sharma met with a specialist in Mumbai for his left thumb injury, which he sustained during the 2nd ODI against Bangladesh. He has been advised appropriate management for this injury and will not be available for the first Test against Bangladesh.”
“The BCCI Medical Team will take a call on his availability for the second and final Test at a later stage. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement for the first Test.” It further said.
For those who don’t know, Rohit Sharma isn’t the only injured player, as Muhammad Shami and Ravindra Jadeja also have been ruled out of the Test series due to their shoulder and knee injuries, respectively. As the replacement, two India A players, fast bowler Navdeep Saini and uncapped left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar has been called. Among them, Left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat has also been included in the Indian squad to reinforce the attack along with Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur.
With Rohit out due to injury, stand-in captain KL Rahul and Shubman Gill are expected to open the innings. It’s worth mentioning that the first Test will be played from Wednesday, December 14 to 18, while the second will kick off from December 22 to 26.
KL Rahul (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat
Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last for up to five days. In the past, some Test matches had no time limit and were called Timeless Tests. The term “test match” was originally coined in 1861–62 but in a different context.
Test cricket did not become an officially recognised format until the 1890s, but many international matches since 1877 have been retrospectively awarded Test status. The first such match took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in March 1877 between teams which were then known as a Combined Australian XI and James Lillywhite’s XI, the latter a team of visiting English professionals.
Matches between Australia and England were first called “test matches” in 1892. The first definitive list of retrospective Tests was written by South Australian journalist Clarence P. Moody two years later and, by the end of the century, had gained acceptance.
There are now twelve full ICC member countries playing Test cricket. Day/night Tests were permitted by the ICC in 2012 and the first day/night match was between Australia and New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval in November 2015.
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