India’s team for the remaining three Test matches against England was announced by the BCCI on Saturday. As expected, Virat Kohli was left out of the team for the three Test matches in Ranchi, Dharamsala and Rajkot.
“Virat Kohli will remain unavailable for selection for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons. The Board fully respects and supports Kohli’s decision,” BCCI said in a release.
KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have been named subject to fitness clearance, as was previously reported. After taking a break during the second Test, Mohammed Siraj, the pacer, returns to the team. Rahul was out with a quadriceps injury, and Jadeja injured his hamstring while trying for a single in India’s second innings of the Hyderabad Test.
BCCI added, “The participation of Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul is subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI medical team.”
Sarfaraz Khan, who was called in as a substitute for Rahul in the second Test, has kept his place, while Rajat Patidar has also remained in the team after Shreyas Iyer was left out of the 17-man squad. Surprisingly the BCCI statement made no mention of Iyer’s back injury.
Aside from Iyer’s absence, the only major change is the replacement of Avesh Khan with Bengal pacer Akash Deep. The latter has been released to compete in the Ranji Trophy.