The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named the squad for the upcoming two-match home Test series against Sri Lanka starting March 4. The senior players including the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ishant Sharma, and Wriddhiman Saha have been excluded from the setup and notable inclusions have been made with an eye on the future in red-ball cricket. Rohit Sharma has been appointed as captain and he would thus be leading the Indian team across formats.
While the selectors have decided to drop the experienced Test specialists for the upcoming series, they have also made some surprise inclusions. Apart from selecting two new players, they have shown faith in one player who has been in and out of the team for the last couple of years. So without further ado, here’s a look at three of those players.
Three surprise picks in the Indian squad for the Sri Lanka Test series
1. KS Bharat
KS Bharat is yet to represent India at the highest level. He has been in the reserves for more than two years but is yet to receive an India cap. However, the Karnataka cricketer did get to don the gloves a few months ago for a while and was a makeshift wicketkeeper for an injured Wriddhiman Saha during the first Test against New Zealand in Indore. The 28-year-old made the most of his opportunities with two catches and effecting a stumping of skipper Tom Latham.
The upcoming Sri Lanka series would be a great chance for Kona Srikar Bharat to prove his mettle at the highest level should he make the cut in the playing XI after years of hard work in domestic cricket where he averages 37.24 in first-class cricket. Bharat had featured in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore last season and has now been bought by Delhi Capitals for INR 2 crore at the IPL 2022 mega auction.
Therefore, it will not be wrong to say that the promising gloveman from Karnataka who leads the Andhra cricket team is well on his way to being India’s second-choice stumper in red-ball cricket after Saha’s axing.
2. Saurabh Kumar
After toiling hard in domestic cricket for so many years, Saurabh Kumar has got a maiden call up to the India squad for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. If selected in the playing XI, the spin all-rounder can also make a tremendous impact with his batting skills. In the 46 first-class matches that the 28-year-old has played so far, he has registered 196 scalps in 82 innings including 16 fifers and six 10-wicket hauls.
He has also been impressive with the bat having amassed 1572 runs in 63 innings, including two centuries. A late entrant to the national team after surviving cut-throat competition all these years, Saurabh Kumar would be eager to bamboozle the Sri Lankan batters in case he gets his maiden Test cap and also use the conditions to his advantage.
It would be interesting to see if the UP cricketer would get an opportunity to bowl in tandem with frontline spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Jayant Yadav. Apart from making an impact with the ball, the left-arm spinner is a very good batter as well and can also make some vital contributions for the Rohit Sharma-led side lower down the order.
3. Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav is not a regular member of India’s Test setup ever since his debut in 2017. The wrist-spinner has been in and out of the team due to inconsistent performances after the 2019 World Cup. Kuldeep had made his last Test appearance during the home series against England in February 2021 and it has been a year since he has bowled in the longest format. The 27-year-old would be hoping to feature in the side regularly with effect from the upcoming series.
While Kuldeep Yadav has found a place in the Indian Test squad for the two-match series next month, the path to reviving his red-ball career only gets difficult as he has to compete with the spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja along with offie Jayant Yadav and emerging left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar. In his eight Test appearances so far, the Kanpur cricketer has managed to register 26 scalps to his name averaging 23.84.
It remains to be seen whether the wrist-spinner can cash in on his opportunities to be in India’s Test setup on a regular basis going forward after getting a chance to make amends in his white-ball career in the ongoing home series against the West Indies.
from CricTracker https://ift.tt/TKuhq94
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