Virat Kohli continues to remain absent as Board of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI) announced the men's squad for the remaining three Tests of the five-match series against England.
After withdrawing from initial two matches, the 35-year-old will be unavailable for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons as the BCCI said it "fully respects and supports Mr. Kohli’s decision."
Meanwhile, Team India suffered a huge setback ahead of the Rajkot Test as Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of remaining matches of the series.
The BCCI hasn't given an official statement on his availability, however, he likely returned home from Vizag reportedly due to a back spasm.
The right-hander had also failed to make the most of his chances, registering scores of 35, 13, 27, and 29 in 4 innings in the series.
Kohli's absence also means it will be the first time he will miss an entire Test series and there won't be any Kohli vs Anderson battle this time, much to the disappointment of the fans.
However, the good news is that veterans KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and talented seamer Mohammed Siraj are back in the Indian team after missing the Vizag Test.
Mohammed Shami continues to remain unavailable for the Test series due to ankle injury. Nevertheless, the BCCI has claimed that Rahul and Jadeja's participation remains under cloud as it depends on their full fitness.
Contrary to reports that vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will be rested, he has been included in the squad for the remaining matches. While left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar is no longer with the squad, India have carried an extra seamer in Akash Deep.
India's squad for remaining 3 Tests:
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul*, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.
Bumrah spearheads India to a comprehensive win in Vizag
Bumrah, the vice-captain, had a leading role to play in India's series-levelling victory in the 2nd Test in Vishakhapatnam. The 30-year-old took 9 wickets in the match, including 6 in the first innings to bowl England out for 253 in reply to India's 396.
The hosts set England a 399-run target and they managed only 292 in reply. The 3rd Test begins on February 15th.
