India squad for Australia series: Bumrah misses out, Unadkat included for first two Border-Gavaskar Tests

In another interesting addition, left-handed wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has also earned his maiden call-up to the Test squad.

Bumrah did not make the cut for the first two Tests against Australia. | Photo Credit: PTI

Jasprit Bumrah is a notable absentee in India’s squad for the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia, which was announced by the BCCI late Friday night. Jaydev Unadkat, who played his first Test in 12 years in Bangladesh, makes the cut.

Saurashtra captain Unadkat recently became the first player to take a first over Ranji Trophy hat-trick in an Elite B group match against Delhi in Rajkot. Unadkat, the Saurashtra captain, removed Dhruv Shorey, Vaibhav Rawal and Yash Dhull off the third, fourth and fifth deliveries of the match.

Meanwhile, Bumrah was ruled out of the ODI series against Sri Lanka on fitness grounds. Bumrah has been out of action since September because of a stress reaction in his back. But his recovery had gone satisfactorily, according to the BCCI, which had initially included him in the squad for Sri Lanka ODIs.

Ishan Kishan included

In another interesting addition, left-handed wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has also earned his maiden call-up to the Test squad. Kishan has 2985 runs in First Class cricket at an average of 38.76 and has a highest score of 273, which he scored against Delhi in the 2016-17 Ranji season.

Suryakumar, who scored successive 90s on his return to Ranji Trophy last month, was rewarded as the 17th member of the Test squad for his pyrotechnics in the shortest format. He was a part of India’s extended squad for the Test series in England in 2021.

Rishabh Pant, recovering after a car accident, does not feature in the squad. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who has not played any cricket since August 2022, has been included subject to fitness.

Australia and India will play four Tests in Nagpur, Delhi, Dharamsala and Ahmedabad with the visiting side searching for just its second series win in the subcontinent nation in the past 50 years.

A three-match ODI series will follow from March 17-22.

India’s Test squad for the first two Tests against Australia: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.