BENGALURU: Virat Kohli’s much-hyped county stint paved the way for Karun Nair’s comeback while senior batsman Rohit Sharma was dropped from the 15-strong Indian squad announced today for the historic one-off Test against Afghanistan next month.
Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane will expectedly lead the team in Kohli’s absence, the selection committee led by MSK Prasad announced after a meeting in which multiple squads were picked.
Rahane, however, has not been dropped from the ODI squad for England tour. He was part of India’s 50-over squad during the South Africa tour.
Ambati Rayudu and KL Rahul were notable comebacks in the ODI squad for the England tour while young speedster Siddarth Kaul was rewarded with a T20 berth against Ireland and England for his consistent IPL performance.
The highlight of today’s selection was without doubt India’s second ever Test triple centurion Nair, who is making a comeback after 14 months in the wilderness, and it remains to be seen if he makes the playing XI against the Afghans in the match starting June 14.
However, Kohli has been named as captain for the two-match T20 series against Ireland. Interestingly, Surrey had officially announced that Kohli will be available for the entire month of June, but the two T20 Internationals are scheduled on June 27 and 29. Surrey’s county game against Yorkshire at Scarborough is scheduled from June 25-28. (AGENCIES)
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