Easwaran named as potential Rohit cover

Injured pace bowler Mohammed Shami will miss India’s tour of Australia next month with three uncapped players in the squad.

Opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, fast bowler Harshit Rana, and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy have been included in an 18-man party for five Tests starting Nov. 22 in Perth.

Rohit Sharma will be captain, with Jasprit Bumrah as his deputy in the much-anticipated series, which is expected to decide the finalists of the World Test Championship.

Shami, 34, recently said he is “pain-free” in his recovery from a foot injury and surgery on his Achilles tendon.

But Rohit, in his update on the quick, said the bowler suffered a setback after swelling in his knee.

Bumrah leads the pace attack that includes Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, and Rana, who has impressed in the Indian Premier League and nine first-class matches.

Spinner Washington Sundar retained his place in the squad after he returned to the five-day format with a seven-wicket first-innings haul in the ongoing match against New Zealand in Pune.

Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was unavailable for selection because of a groin injury.

Easwaran comes in as the third opening batter alongside Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal and could get a chance if the captain sits out the first two matches for “personal reasons,” as reported by Indian media.

The Indian selectors also named the T20 squad for India’s tour of South Africa, where the visitors will play four matches starting November 8 in Durban.

Suryakumar Yadav will lead the team, which will include all-rounder Hardik Pandya and spinner Axar Patel.

India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.

India’s T20 squad: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.