Rahul to lead India in first Test against Bangladesh in absence of injured Rohit

Mumbai, December 11, 2022

Opener K L Rahul will lead India in the first Test against Bangladesh in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who is yet to recover from a thumb injury and has been ruled out of the match.

"India captain Rohit Sharma met with a specialist in Mumbai for his left thumb injury, which he sustained during the 2nd ODI against Bangladesh. He has been advised appropriate management for this injury and will not be available for the first Test against Bangladesh," a statement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said.

The BCCI Medical Team will take a call on his availability for the second and final Test at a later stage, the statement said, adding that the All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement for the first Test.

The statement also said that fast bowler Mohammed Shami and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja are yet to fully recover from their respective shoulder and knee injuries and are ruled out of the Test series.

"The selectors have named Navdeep Saini and Saurabh Kumar as replacements for Shami and Jadeja, respectively. The selection committee has also added fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat to India’s squad for the Test series," it added.

IANS adds:

The 31-year-old Unadkat is receiving just the second call-up in his playing career to the Indian Test squad. His only appearance so far in Tests came almost 12 years ago, in the first Test of the 2010/11 tour of South Africa in Centurion.

Recently, Unadkat was the highest wicket-taker in the 2022/23 Vijay Hazare Trophy, picking up 19 wickets in ten matches to lead Saurashtra to the title. Apart from a solitary Test appearance, the left-hander has also played seven ODIs and ten T20Is for India, seen in the national set-up last time when India won the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka in March 2018.

India's squad for Bangladesh Tests: K L Rahul (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat

NNN