Rohit Sharma named captain of test team; Pujara, Rahane, Ishant dropped
BCCI this afternoon announced the test team for the home series against Sri Lanka, and it answered a lot of questions for the Indian fans.
The first and the biggest question the squad addressed was the captaincy issue. And Rohit Sharma’s fans will be delighted to know that he has been named the captain of test team.
This debate about who should be the test captain was long overdue. After his snub as the limited over captain, Virat Kohli decided to step down as Test captain in January.
Since then, there have been several questions about who should be the next captain. While Rohit Sharma was the obvious candidate, people were also contemplating BCCI going with a young captain like Bumrah or Rishabh Pant.
All these rumours have been cast aside for now, as Rohit Sharma will be the captain for the series and probably for the upcoming tours as well.
BCCI makes serveral changes to test team
With that being said, let’s address the elephant in the room.
BCCI has taken a huge decision in this squad by removing three veteran test specialists.
Yes, Pujara, Rahane and Ishant Sharma are excluded from the home series against Sri Lanka.
Chetan Sharma, the team’s chief selector, stated, “We have spoken to them earlier, and we have told them that we will not consider them for the two test matches against Sri Lanka.”
He added that the “doors are absolutely open for them” in the future.
Also the trio has a great chance to perform in the ongoing Ranji Trophy and reclaim their spot in the test team.
Speaking about the captaincy role, Sharma said that the management is pleased to assign Rohit Sharma the captaincy. Also, he will have a new deputy in the form of Jasprit Bumrah for his series.
There have been some big shuffles in the team. Opener Shubhman Gill and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja are set to make a comeback.
KS Bharat, who was seen in action in the New Zealand series, will take over the role of the backup keeper from Saha.
KL Rahul and Washington Sundar are ruled out for the entire tour on fitness issues, while Shardul Thakur is rested.
The test series between India and Sri Lanka will commence on May 4th.
