RCB pacer surprised to get Test call-up

The BCCI announced the squad for the remaining three Tests against England yesterday, with plenty of surprises in the sheet. Virat Kohli didn’t make himself available for the series and will be unavailable for selection for this whole marquee five-game rubber.

Further, Shreyas Iyer has reportedly been axed following back-to-back failures in four innings of the first two Tests, where his technique looked faulty. While Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul are part of the squad, a call on their inclusion will be taken based on their fitness before the game.

Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar have retained their places, while Mohammed Siraj has been recalled after being given a rest for the second encounter. Mukesh Kumar has also been included, but Avesh Khan failed to find a spot in the squad after travelling with the team earlier in the series.

Also Read: WATCH: Expensive RCB star not given run out by the umpire despite being well short

There are not many changes in the spin bowling department, with the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Washington Sundar retaining their places. The next game will begin on February 15 in Rajkot.

Akash Deep surprised to get a Test call-up

While there were many surprises in the Test squad, the selection of Akash Deep was the biggest of them, as no one saw it coming. Following his selection, Akash chatted with PTI, revealing that he didn’t expect to be selected.

“I was hopeful that in the near future, I might get a Test call-up if I kept performing, but I didn't expect that it would come by the third match itself.”

Akash, who was part of the ODI squad against South Africa in December, added that the tour made him realise the importance of mental strength to execute the plans under pressure in international cricket.

“Inswing is my stock delivery, but at this level, you need to have outswing and reverse swing, and more importantly, need to control the swing. I was in the ODI squad in South Africa and realised that more than skill, at this level, it is more about the mental strength of being able to execute plans under pressure.”

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