India has announced their squad for the upcoming BGT, as they have named Abhimanyu Easwaran, the dynamic opener, as well as Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy into their team.
India has announced a huge 18-member squad ahead of the highly anticipated red-ball series against Australia, which is about to commence on the 22nd of November. The Indian team has brought in several likely new faces into India’s red-ball squad, but several much-anticipated veterans have missed their BGT outing.
Some Big Names that missed out on the BGT Squad
The likes of Indian left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who has emerged as India’s all-format spinner, were not available for the selection owing to his groin issue, which ruled him out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
While fast bowler Mohammad Shami was much anticipated for a return, being one of India’s most experienced heads to play under Australian conditions. Even Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has spoken heavily on Shami’s recovery, sparking that owing to his need in the BGT, he is not being risk to play at the home test matches.
However, now that the BCCI has come up with the final squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, they have dared to leave out the likes of their ace pacer, who is still said to have succumbed from an extended injury.
Arrival of New Faces to the Indian side for the BGT
The most fascinating yet not surprising name in the squad lies in the Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, as the batter has gained prominence in the red-ball circuit owing to his excellent form in the domestic tournaments across several editions now, as he recently completed 100 First Class matches in his decade-long domestic career.
The Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has been reported to likely miss the beginning one-two match of the Test series due to personal reasons, and if that happens, the 29-year-old Easwaran might make his debut for the Indian side.
The batter, with his successive hundreds in the Duleep Trophy, Irani Cup, and the ongoing Ranji Trophy, found him a spot not only in the India A squad but also surpassed the likes of India. A skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad, will feature in the India Test squad.
India has parted ways with former test all-rounder Axar Patel, though India still retains their three-spin all-rounders in Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and the southpaw Washington Sundar after his immensely impactful performance in the ongoing Pune test.
Also, since Hardik Pandya played his final test match back in 2018, 21-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy became the first seam all-rounder to star in India’s red-ball team.
Not so Impressive Pace Deck: Lack of Experience with the Red-ball among bowlers
However, though the squad seems impressive, India does not look very well decked in the pace bowling setup, which will be led by ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Other than Bumrah, every other pacer in Mohammad Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, and Harshit Rana have never featured with the red-ball in Australia.
The seeming heaven of a track for pacers, the Australian track will have the big three Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazelwood bowling to the Indian batters, with the likes of Scott Boland being another option in the hut. Though India, as anticipated without Shami, would lack the dependency on their pace bowlers except for Bumrah.
IND vs AUS BGT 2024-25: Full Squad
India Full Squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Navdeep Saini, Mukesh Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed.
