IND vs ENG: No Ishan Kishan and Shami in India squad for first two Tests vs England, Dhruv Jurel included

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IND vs ENG: The BCCI on Friday (January 12) announced India squad for the first two Test matches against England. Ishan Kishan has been left out, while wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel has got maiden Test call-up.

Mohammed Shami, who is recovering from an ankle injury, has also not been named in the squad. KS Bharat have retained his place despite the inclusion of 22-year-old Jurel.

Dhruv Jurel was recently part of India A squad which played unofficial Test matches in South Africa. The right-hand batter scored 69 runs in his only outing in the second match, and also picked three catches behind the stumps.

In his first outing of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24, the right-hand batter from Uttar Pradesh scored 63 in the only innings against Kerala. Overall, he has featured in 15 first-class matches and scored 790 runs at an average of 46.47.

A total of four specialist spinners - Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav - have been named in the squad. The first Test will kick from January 25 in Hyderabad. The second Test will be played in Visakhapatnam from February 2.

IND vs ENG: Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur dropped

Fast bowlers Prasidh Krishna and all-rounder Shardul Thakur, who were part of the squad for the two Tests in South Africa, have been dropped.

Abhimanyu Easwaran was called in as a cover for injured Ruturaj Gaikwad in South Africa. Both the top-order batters have not been named in the squad. Gaikwad suffered an injury to his right ring finger in the ODI series against South Africa. He is understandably recovering from the injury.

Avesh Khan was inducted in the squad as Shami's replacement ahead of the second Test. However, the management persisted with Krishan for the series-decider. The Karnataka pacer has been dropped after his ordinary outing while Avesh Khan finds himself in the company of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mukesh Kumar.

The batting unit remains the same. Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal will once again open and will be followed by Shubman Gill at three. Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are very likely to form the Indian middle-order.

India squad for first 2 Tests vs England: Rohit Sharma (C ), S Gill, Y Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, S Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan