India's Ravichandran Ashwin (3rd L) celebrates along with his teammates after taking the wicket of South Africa's Dean Elgar during the third day of their third test cricket match in Nagpur, India, November 27, 2015. REUTERS/Amit Dave
On Tuesday, the squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan was released by the BCCI. Karun Nair and Kuldeep Yadav have both been included in the 15-man squad led by Ajinkya Rahane. Regular skipper, Virat Kohli, has opted for a county stint with Surrey instead of the Afghanistan Test.Rohit Sharma has also been dropped ahead of India’s tour of Ireland and England. The 31-year-old had a forgettable South African tour and has been playing non-stop for a while. Sharma led the side for the T20I home series against Sri Lanka last December and again during the Nidahas Trophy in March.Kuldeep Yadav
Also making a return to the Test side are Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma. Both players have been plying their trade in county cricket for a while. The Test begins on June 14, following which, they will head back to continue with their county assignments.
Also on the sidelines are bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Bumrah and Kumar were included in the squad for the Test series in South Africa. The selectors have instead opted to add Shardul Thakur and an extra spinner in Kuldeep to strengthen the squad.Parthiv Patel has also been omitted in favour of Wriddhiman Saha as first-choice gloveman. Saha had picked up an injury during the South Africa series and was replaced by Patel. In the meantime, the IPL is in full swing as 8 franchises vie for the title. Currently, the Sunrisers Hyderabad are leading the table, followed by the Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders.Below is the India squad for the Afghanistan Test, Squad: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Shardul Thakur
