Senior Indian players out of last three England Tests; squad named

Indian cricket team’s squad for the final three Tests against England has been announced. Rohit Sharma will lead the 17-member side while Jasprit Bumrah continues to be his deputy. Bengal fast bowler Akash Deep has earned a maiden call-up to the India Test squad.

Virat Kohli will continue to remain unavailable for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons. BCCI has stated that the Board fully respects and supports Kohli’s decision. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have been named in the squad but their availability is subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI medical team.

Middle order batter Shreyas Iyer has been left out from the squad as he complained of stiff back and groin pain. This means that India will be forced to make at least one change in the playing eleven that played the second Test. Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj is also back after being rested from the second Test.

Meanwhile, Bengal fast bowler Akash Deep has earned a maiden call-up into India’s squad after an impressive showing in the recently concluded series against England Lions. The right-arm quick picked up 11 wickets in 2 matches and was the second highest wicket-taker in the series. Akash Deep plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.

India’s squad for the final three Tests against England

Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul*, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep

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The series is currently level at 1-1 with three matches to go. England won the first Test by 28 runs while India made a comeback by winning the second Test by 106 runs. The next match will be played at Rajkot from February 15-19 while the final two Tests will be played at Ranchi and Dharamsala respectively.