World Test Final: Jadeja, Shami back in squad; Hardik not considered

Hardik Pandya was not considered for selection as he is still not in a position to bowl while a fitagain Ravindra Jadeja made his way back to a 20strong Indian squad announced on Friday for next months World Test Championship final against New Zealand and a fivematch series against EnglandAlong with Jadeja batsman Hanuma Vihari and senior pacer Mohammed Shami also walked back into the side after missing the home series against England due to injuriesAll three had endured injuries during the away series against Australia earlier this year when India recorded one of their best triumphsHardik who was with team during the home series against England but did not play has not been picked because he is not fit enough to do the job with the ball He can play as a specialist batsman in the shorter formats but has to bowl for a place in the Test teamHardik Pandya is still not in a position to bowl The experiment of selectors to keep him during England and prepare him with bowling workload has failed miserably He will henceforth not be considered for Test cricket a BCCI source told PTIThe selectors also picked four standby players Abhimanyu Easwaran Prasidh Krishna Avesh Khan and Arzan Nagwaswalla the BCCI stated in a press releaseOpener Easwaran and pacer Avesh Khan were also with the team during the England series while the extra pace did it for IPL regular Prasidh Krishna and Gujarat leftarm fast bowler Arzan Nagwaswalla who had a stellar 201920 season He is the only Parsi cricketer currently playing at the firstclass level in IndiaThe 23yearold leftarm pacer has 62 firstclass wickets to his credit in 16 matches that he has played since his debut in 2018K L Rahul who underwent a surgery after being diagnosed with acute appendicitis and Wriddhiman Saha infected with COVID19 during the recentlysuspended IPL have been included subject to fitnessOutofform spinner Kuldeep Yadav and pacer Navdeep Saini have been left out of the squad which is expected to depart for England for the twin assignments in the third week of this monthAxar Patel has expectedly retained his place as the third spinner after a successful debut series against EnglandBatting star Prthvi Shaw has not managed to impress the selectors with his whiteball form and has been overlooked Also ignored was Bhuvneshwar Kumar whose fitness woes continue to come in the way of a consistent runThe WTC final against the Black Caps will be held from June 18 in Southampton followed by the Tests against England from August 4The Test series against England will start in Nottingham followed by matches at the Lords August 12 to 16 Leeds August 25 to 29 The Oval September 2 to 6 and Manchester September 10 to 14Indias squadRohit Sharma Shubman Gill Mayank Agarwal Cheteshwar Pujara Virat Kohli Captain Ajinkya Rahane vicecaptain Hanuma Vihari Rishabh Pant wicketkeeper Ravichandran Ashwin Ravindra Jadeja Axar Patel Washington Sundar Jasprit Bumrah Ishant Sharma Mohammed Shami Mohammed Siraj Shardul Thakur Umesh Yadav KL Rahul subject to fitness clearance Wriddhiman Saha wicketkeeper subject to fitness clearanceStandby players Abhimanyu Easwaran Prasidh Krishna Avesh Khan Arzan Nagwaswalla