Cricket | Kohli not available.Jadeja and Rahul return for final three Tests pending fitness clearance

Virat Kohli has been sidelined due to personal reasons and will miss the Test series for the first time since his debut, while Shreyas Iyer will miss the final three matches of the ongoing five-match series between India and England. . All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and batsman KL Rahul will rejoin the squad pending final fitness clearance. Pacer Akash Deep received the first Test call-up in the 17-member squad.

Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary general Jay Shah announced the squad on Saturday morning after the national selection committee met in Chennai on Friday night to decide on the final squad. hinduism It is understood that the selectors have chosen to wait as long as possible to clarify Kohli’s availability and assess the suitability of Rahul and Jadeja.

“Virat Kohli will remain unselected for the remaining series due to personal reasons. The board fully respects and supports Mr. Kohli’s decision,” a BCCI statement said. “The participation of Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul requires fitness clearance from the BCCI medical team.”

The Indian squad was given a break after the second Test in Visakhapatnam on February 5 and is scheduled to reconvene in Rajkot on Sunday night, with Jadeja and Rahul’s participation confirmed. A final decision could be made during Monday’s practice.

Meanwhile, Shreyas was dropped due to his mediocre run in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle. The middle-order hitter has given up just 187 runs in his past 12 innings. Apparently, the way he was dismissed in the first two Tests also did not go down well with the team management and selectors.

Shreyas reportedly had a recurrence of his back problem, but the statement did not mention the injury. Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan, who came in as Kohli’s replacement before the series and made his debut in Visakhapatnam after Rahul’s absence, have retained their places in the side.

The only other change was that Bengal pacer Akash Deep was brought in in place of Abesh Khan. Beyond the changes, the biggest discussion regarding the pace pack revolved around Jasprit Bumrah’s workload.

The selectors tenaciously backed Bumrah as the series ended in a draw in each match. Depending on how the Rajkot match unfolds, Bumrah will be expected to be rested for the fourth or fifth Test.

team: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jhuler (WK), KS Bharat (WK), R.A. Schwinn, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.

Itinerary: Third test: February 15th to 19th (Rajkot), Fourth test: February 23rd to 27th (lunch), Fifth test: March 7th to 11th (Dharamsala).