The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently announced the squads for the first two Tests of India’s upcoming home series against England. Most of the players who were part of the touring side in South Africa last month retained their spots.
Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur were dropped from the squad after a poor showing against South Africa. Spinners Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav have made a comeback on the squad after missing the away tour and will handle the spin department along with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Ishan Kishan was once again absent, and the reason behind it is yet unknown. KL Rahul has been chosen as wicket-keeper once again. 22-year-old Dhruv Jurel got a maiden call-up into the Indian Test team, and he will be a back-up keeper along with KS Bharat. Veteran players like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara were ignored yet again.
Team India squad for the first 2 Tests against England: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan
Indian cricket fans took note of the Indian squad for the first two Tests against England and expressed their views by sharing memes on social media platforms.
Here is a collection of the best memes:
“Pitches can be a massive talking point”- England vice-captain Ollie Pope ahead of Test series vs India
English Test team vice-captain recently anticipated that the pitches would assist spinners during their upcoming India tour and revealed that they won’t complain if that is the case. Speaking to The Guardian, Pope said:
“There will be a lot of outside noise. And pitches can be a massive talking point. But you have to remember the two teams are playing on the exact same wicket, so we just need to be as well equipped as we can. In England, we might leave more grass on the pitch to suit our amazing seamers, so it’s no surprise if India do the same to suit their spinners. And I actually think low-scoring Test matches are pretty amazing to watch.
Ollie Pope added:
“I saw a fair bit of South Africa versus India, and it was great: guys scoring seriously tough runs, and the ball flying through. The scores could be similar in India, but if the pitches spin from ball one, we won’t be complaining. It’s about finding a method to combat it.”
The 5-match Test series between India and England will commence on January 25 in Hyderabad.
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Edited by Siddharth Dhananjay