The Indian Test cricket team will be led by Shubman Gill after the 25-year-old on Saturday was appointed as the new captain while Rishabh Pant was named his deputy, starting with the five-match series in England.
The selectors decision on the team's leadership was on expected lines following the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Young left-hander B Sai Sudharsan earned his maiden Test call-up.
However, there are few key names missing ahead of a vital tour to England. Let's delve into the five names that have missed the ticket for the IND vs ENG series:
Mohammed Shami
Pacer Mohammed Shami was dropped from India바카라s squad for the five-match Test series against England, which begins from June 20 at Headingley. Shami who has been part of India바카라s last three Test tours of England, was deemed 'not fit' by chief selector Agarkar.
"His workload is not where it needs to be. We were hoping he will be available but it is unfortunate. At the moment he is not dully fit," BCCI chief selector Agarkar said at the press-conference.
The veteran pacer who returned from injury recently, last played for India whites at the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia in June 2023.
Sarfaraz Khan
Another name that misses out on the plane to England is Mumbai's Sarfaraz Khan. The 27-year-old did not play a single Test in Australia despite being part of the squad. Speaking about his exclusion, Agarkar stated that there will be some players missing out.
"We can't pick 50 players now, so naturally when you have to pick 18 players, some players will be missing out," Agarkar said. Sarfaraz has played six Tests for India with three hundreds and one fifty to his name.
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Harshit Rana
A bold selection for the Border-Gavaskar series, Harshit Rana had a satisfactory outing Down Under. The KKR bowler picked four wickets in his debut Test but had to bear the brunt of Travis Head and others in the other Tests.
Ajinkya Rahane
Despite a decent outing with the bat in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season, Ajinkya Rahane was touted by many to take the plane to England especially with the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring. Rahane, who scored a valuable 103 at Lord's during the 2014 tour to England, has been ignored once again by the selectors and it remains to be seen whether the veteran batter sees of his future on the international front.
Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer might have been having a fine campaign in the white-ball cricket but the 30-year-old has yet to cement his place in the Test arena. Shreyas was once again ignored in the Test squad, despite being a stellar performer in the white-ball cricket. Shreyas' last Test came against England at Visakhapatnam on February 2, 2024. In 14 Tests, he has scored 811 runs with one century to his name.
