Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who delivered several match-winning all-round performances in the ongoing Ranji season, was recalled into the Test squad in place of Ravichandran Ashwin, who was injured during the second ODI match between India and South Africa.
In ODIs, Umesh Yadav will be replaced by Sreenath Aravind for the remaining two ODIs of the five-match series.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday announced the Indian squad for the remaining two ODIs and the first two Tests.
The rest of the squad looks identical to the one that played in Sri Lanka with Virat Kohli as the leader. Most of the 16-member, who clinched a 2-1 series win on Sri Lankan soil after 22 years, have retained their places in the team.
Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma automatically selected themselves among the batsmen. KL Rahul, who scored a century along with string of low scores in the Sri Lanka series, has also been named.
Bengal wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha, who missed the final Lanka Test due to a hamstring injury, is also back into the squad. The pace battery is led by Ishant Sharma and also includes Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron.
Stuart Binny has also retained his place after a decent outing in the final Test against Sri Lanka.
However, Ishant, who is serving a one-match ban, will miss the first Test in Mohali. The lanky pacer from Delhi also suffered a hamstring injury during his Ranji game in Delhi but the selectors may have kept him in the squad expecting that he will get fit in time.
One notable omission has been of Harbhajan Singh, who was part of the Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Jadeja are the three spinners who have been selected.
The Test series will begin from November 5 with Mohali, Bengaluru, Nagpur and Delhi as the venues respectively.
The selectors also made just one change in the ODI squad for the remaining two matches against Proteas, bringing in paceman Sreenath Arvind for fellow seamer Umesh Yadav.
Selector Sandeep Patil said the selectors are keenly observing the team’s so far disappointing run against the South Africans in the limited overs series. The hosts lost the Twenty20s 0-2 and are trailing 1-2 in the ODI series.
“We are concerned (performance). Two selectors who were travelling with the team had a word with the team management and captain. We had a detailed discussion with the captain. It is not a worrying factor. Every time the Indian team does well we feel good, every time it loses we feel bad,” Patil said.
“I have been saying that nobody is happy that we lost a game that we should have won. But we still back the team which we have chosen. We still back the ideas and the management and the support staff. We want them to do well. The areas that we wanted to be looked into have been discussed, about which the team management and captain will give a good thought to it,” he added.
Patil said the selectors and the captain have no differences on the composition of the team.
