IND vs BAN 1st Test: Rohit Sharma ruled out, KL Rahul to lead; Easwaran, Unadkat added to squad

IND vs BAN Test series: Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, bowlers Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar and Jaydev Unadkat have also been added to the squad.

India captain Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the first Test against Bangladesh | Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K

India Test captain Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the first Test against Bangladesh on Sunday, after suffering a thumb dislocation injury during the recently-concluded ODI series.

KL Rahul will lead India in the absence of Rohit in the first Test, the BCCI confirmed in a statement.

“India captain Rohit Sharma met with a specialist in Mumbai for his left thumb injury, which he sustained during the 2nd ODI against Bangladesh. He has been advised of appropriate management for this injury and will not be available for the first Test against Bangladesh,” the BCCI said.

Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran has been drafted into the squad as Rohit’s replacement. Easwaran had recently the India A team in its two-match tour to Bangladesh. The 27-year-old successive hundreds to finish the series as the leading run-getter with 299 runs in two innings.

The BCCI also confirmed that pacer Mohammed Shami and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja have not recovered sufficiently from their respective injuries. Navdeep Saini and Saurabh Kumar, who were part of the Indian A team, have also been added to squad besides left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat who could make a potential return to the Test XI after 12 years.

India’s updated squad for Bangladesh Tests: KL Rahul (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat