India's squad for Australia: KL Rahul on the rise

In-form KL recalled to Test squad, will be Virat Kohlis deputy in ODIs and T20Is; injured Rohit Sharma left out

India's limited-over vice-captain and senior opener Rohit Sharma was on Monday left out of all three squads for the tour of Australia due to a recurring hamstring injury which is set to oust him from the remainder of IPL as well.

In Rohit's absence, the in-form KL Rahul will be Virat Kohli's deputy in the white ball teams and is also back in the Test squad after a considerable period of time. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant failed to make the cut for the limited overs even though he retained his place in the Test squad.

Rohit, Ishant monitored

"The BCCI Medical Team will continue to monitor the progress of Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma," BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a press release announcing the squads.

The tour of Australia comprises three T20 Internationals, as many ODIs and four Tests. It is set to get underway from November 27.

It is learnt that in case of Rohit, it might take a good six to eight weeks for complete recovery from the injury that he picked up during the IPL.

"It is unlikely that Rohit will take any further part in this year's IPL. He will have to go back to India and be at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for the rehabilitation," a senior BCCI source said.

The story of Monday's selection was undoubtedly Rahul, who is also now India's first-choice 'keeper in both T20 Internationals and ODIs as selectors finally ran out of patience with Pant.

"Rahul is being looked as India's first choice white-ball 'keeper till the 2021 World T20 and beyond. Also he has impressed everyone with his leadership skills and that's why this elevation as vice-captain," the source said.

Sanju Samson will be the second wicketkeeper in T20l squad which also features Kolkata Knight Riders' mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy.

Chakravarthy in T20I squad

It is undoubtedly a big day for Chennai-based architect Varun, who has played 21 representative matches at the senior level, including 11 T20 games—all at the IPL.
His five-wicket haul against Delhi Capitals is one of the highlights of this IPL and he has bowled brilliantly at the death mixing his clever variations.

Test call-up for Siraj

Among other notable inclusions, pacer Mohammed Siraj has been rewarded with a Test call-up for his consistent red-ball performances. The absence of the injured duo of Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar also paved the way for his selection. "Siraj and [Navdeep] Saini were automatic choices in Test team once Bhuvi [thigh muscle] and Ishant [left rib cage] were ruled out," the source said.

India's squad: Tests

V Kohli (captain), M Agarwal, P Shaw, KL Rahul, C Pujara, A Rahane (vc), H Vihari, S Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Pant (wk), J Bumrah, M Shami, U Yadav, N Saini, K Yadav, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, M Siraj

ODIs

V Kohli (captain), S Dhawan, S Gill, KL Rahul (vc and wk), S Iyer, M Pandey, H Pandya, M Agarwal, R Jadeja, Y Chahal, K Yadav, J Bumrah, M Shami, N Saini, S Thakur

T20Is

V Kohli (captain), S Dhawan, M Agarwal, KL Rahul (vc and wk), S Iyer, M Pandey, H Pandya, S Samson (wk), R Jadeja, W Sundar, Y Chahal, J Bumrah, M Shami, N Saini, D Chahar, V Chakravarthy

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