Rayudu in squad after two years
Hyderabad captain, in great IPL form, picked for ODIs, Rahane to lead in Afghanistan Test
NEW DELHI : Ajinkya Rahane will captain India in Virat Kohli’s absence for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday named a 15-member squad for Afghanistan historic Test, to be played at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore from June 14-18.
Kohli has been allowed to skip the Afghanistan Test to acclimatise for the England Tests by playing for English county side Surrey, after a disappointing show in 2014, where he managed just 134 runs in five Tests at an average of 13.4. Pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have also been rested. Rohit Sharma also doesn’t figure in the squad.
Karun Nair, who was dropped for the South Africa tour and the home series against Sri Lanka late last year, is back for the Test. Wriddhiman Saha has returned after missing two of the three Tests against South Africa due to a hamstring injury.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma, who are also playing county cricket for Yorkshire and Sussex respectively, will join the squad for the Bangalore game.
While Kohli will return for the Ireland and England series, Ambati Rayudu, who has performed brilliantly so far in IPL 2018, has been selected for the ODI series against England. Rayudu last played an ODI in 2016.
After the Afghanistan Test, India will face Ireland in a twomatch T20 series. Both games will be played in Dublin on June 27 and 29.
The Kohli-led India will then start their full tour of England with a three-match T20 series, starting July 3. The first game will be played in Manchester while the second and third will be played in Cardiff (July 6) and Bristol (July 8).