India’s squad for first two tests against England has been announced; Virat, Hardik, Ishant return; Prithvi, Saini, Nattu dropped

India’s squad for the upcoming test series against England has been announced. Yesterday, the selection committee picked the 18-member squad for the first two test matches of the four-test series.

Opener Shubhman Gill, all-rounder Washington Sunder, Mohammad Siraj and Shardul Thakur, who were part of the team that won the historic victory over Australia, retained their position. Meanwhile, Navdeep Saini, Prithvi Shaw and the Tamil Nadu pacer T Natarajan have lost their chance.

Skipper Virat Kohli is back along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya and pacer Ishant Sharma. All-rounder Akshar Patel has been called up to the Test team for the first time. The injured Hanuma Vihari, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja have been rested.

The India-England Test series starts on February 5. The first two Tests will be played in Chennai and the next two in Ahmedabad.

Squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (Vice-captain), KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur.