When the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India's 13-man squad for the fourth and final Test against Australia, Ishant Sharma's name was not included and that attracted several questions.
When the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India's 13-man squad for the fourth and final Test against Australia, Ishant Sharma's name was not included and that attracted several questions.
Ishant has done a good job so far in the series with 11 wickets from three Tests but an injury scare has forced him to make way for Umesh in the final Test.
It was later known that Ishant has been experiencing some left rib cage discomfort and the team management did not want to risk him during the Sydney Test. The fast bowler is being assessed currently.
Going into the fourth Test with a 2-1 lead, one would have expected Indian captain Virat Kohli to go with an unchanged playing XI. But, Rohit Sharma had to fly back home as his wife Ritika Sajdeh gave birth to their daughter last week and he was given the permission to spend time with his family and return for the ODI series.
With Rohit gone, Kohli will be forced to make a change at least. India might have to choose between KL Rahul and spinner Kuldeep Yadav as Rohit's replacement. Considering Sydney, the venue for the fourth Test is a spin-friendly wicket, Kuldeep might come in as handy and support to Ravindra Jadeja.
However, Kuldeep's inclusion will mean, another addition to India's weak tailenders and Kohli will want to add an extra batsman instead and that way, Rahul could get another life in the series.
Rahul's scores read 2, 44 at the Adelaide Oval and 2 and 0 at Perth and following which he was dropped. However, BCCI has once again included the out-of-form Rahul in the 13-man squad and this has left a lot of Indian fans angry on social media.
India's 13-man squad for the fourth Test: Hanuma Vihari, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami.
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