After yet another Knockout defeat in the ICC World Test Championship, the Indian Test squad has opted for quite a few changes in personnel, with India’s long serving Number 3, Cheteshwar Pujara headlining the list of dropped players. Umesh Yadav has also been dropped after an underwhelming performance with the ball in the final, with Mukesh Kumar getting a maiden call-up and Navdeep Saini earning a return. Mohammad Siraj, in all likelihood, is expected to lead the attack in the absence of Mohammad Shami, who has been rested. Shardul Thakur and Jaydev Unadkat complete the pace attack for the visitors. Experienced duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja along with Axar Patel form the spin troika, with the latter expected to be considered as the back-up.
The spotlight within the squad, however, falls on the new recruits in the batting set-up with Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill being looked at as successors in the Test setup. It remains to be seen who takes up the mantle from Cheteshwar Pujara and how does Ajinkya Rahane performs with him being re-appointed as the Test Vice-captain. Yashasvi Jaiswal could be thrown in as the opener with Shubman Gill at number 3, as it allows the team to open with a Left-right combination which the team has been struggling to find over the years.
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