Gautam Gambhir retained for England series

BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke and chief selector M.S.K Prasad at the press conference to announce the squad for the upcoming England series. (Photo: Rajesh Jadhav)

Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the entire five-match Test series against England as injury-plagued India will continue to miss openers Shikhar Dhawan and K.L. Rahul for the first two Tests against England. All-rounder Hardik Pandya who made an impressive start to his ODI career in the last series against New Zealand has been included in the Test side for the first time.

Off-spinner Jayant Yadav and middle-order batsman Karun Nair who were named as replacements during the previous Test series for Ishant Sharma and Dhawan have retained their places. Ishant, who was suffering from chikunguniya, is also back in the side. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has recovered from a back injury suffered during the second Test against the Kiwis, but was not selected because of lack of match practice and his replacement in the squad for the Indore Test, Shardul Thakur, was also overlooked.

The five selectors, headed by M.S.K. Prasad, met here on Wednesday to select the 15-member squad for the first two Tests of the five-match series starting in Rajkot from November 9. This was the first Test team selection by the new panel.

Rohit sustained an injury to his right thigh during the fifth and final ODI against New Zealand last week at Visakhapatnam and will require six to eight weeks for recovery and even more in case of a surgery.

“(We are) definitely not (considering) him for the Test series. He is badly injured and is going to be assessed in England. In case he does not require a surgical intervention, then 6-8 weeks (for recovery) and if it (surgery) is required then it could be more,” Prasad told reporters here.

Injuries have hampered the Mumbai batsman’s Test career and it has come at a critical juncture when he enjoys the the captain and coach’s confidence after scoring some runs in this format.

In 2010, Rohit was all set to make his Test debut against Australia at Nagpur when he twisted his ankle while playing football and had to wait for three years before making his Test debut at Kolkata against the West Indies in November 2013.

Rohit’s injury may give India an option to give Pandya his debut in Rajkot as an all-rounder. Pandya has played 16 first-class matches and taken 22 wickets at an average of 33. He has already played four ODIs and 16 T20 internationals.

“Pandya’s pace has increased, he is moving the ball, and he has improved as a batsman. He has mellowed as a person. He is one allrounder we thought is an equally competent bowler and batsman. And a good fielder too,” Prasad said.

Gautam Gambhir, who replaced Rahul after the Karnataka batsman injured his hamstring during first Test against New Zealand, played in the Indore Test against Kiwis. He is set to open the innings again in Rajkot with Murali Vijay. Dhawan was ruled out for the third Test and ODIs because of a finger injury.

Virat Kohli will lead the no. 1 Test side with Ajinkya Rahane as his vice-captain. Cheteshwar Pujara completes the batting line-up with wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. Jayant Yadav, who can also bat, is the fourth spinner in the side besides R. Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja. Mohammed Shami will continue to spearhead the pace attack with Ishant and Umesh Yadav.