Virat Kohli (L) and Rohit Sharma© AFP
Rohit Sharma is all set to captain the Indian cricket team in the upcoming Test series against England with the BCCI shortlisting around 35 players fro the tour, according to a report by Times Of India. While there was some speculation over Rohit’s position following the series loss against Australia, he is expected to stay as captain. The report also claimed that the selectors are keen to find a steady middle-order batter who can No. 5 or 6 with Karun Nair and Devdutt Padikkal being the top contenders. However, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel have reportedly not part of the selectors’ shortlist as of now.
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“Rohit is most likely to travel as the board feels that one needs a strong captain through the series, which is likely to be as tough as the Australia tour. With regard to the middle-order, the team management has shown very little confidence in Sarfaraz Khan‘s ability. Nair and Patidar are seasoned red-ball players and are in fine form. It is likely at least one of them will be in the India ‘A’ team. As for Iyer, he was dropped last year based on his poor returns in Test cricket. A final call is yet to be be taken,” a BCCI source said.
Sai Sudharsan is also expected to be the back-up opener for the series. However, if he does not find a place in the squad, he will most certainly be a part of the India A squad.
The other major name in the shortlist is spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep has found himself out of favour when it comes to overseas Test series. However, with R Ashwin retiring mid-way into the Australia series, he is reportedly being considered as an attacking spin option for the Indian cricket team.
Coming to the pace attack, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah will surely be included but the selectors are reportedly concerned with the inconsistency shown by Mohammed Siraj.
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