Rohit out of Australia tour with hamstring injury; Siraj in Test squad, Varun Chakravarthy in T20Is

New Delhi, October 26

India's limited-over vice-captain and senior opener Rohit Sharma was on Monday left out of all three squads for the tour of Australia due to a recurring hamstring injury which is set to keep him out of the remainder of the Indian Premier League as well.

In Rohit's absence, the in-form KL Rahul will be Virat Kohli's deputy in the white ball teams. He has also made it to the Test squad after a considerable period of time.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant failed to make the cut for the limited overs even though he retained his place in the Test squad.

"The BCCI medical team will continue to monitor the progress of Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma," BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a press release announcing the squads.

The tour of Australia comprises three T20 Internationals, three ODIs and four Test matches. It is set to get underway from November 27.

It is learnt that in case of Rohit, it might take a good six to eight weeks for complete recovery from the injury that he picked up during the IPL.

"It is unlikely that Rohit will take any further part in this  year's Indian Premier League. He will have to go back to India and be at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for the rehabilitation," a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Vice-Captain KL Rahul

The story of Monday's selection was undoubtedly Rahul, who is also now India's first-choice keeper in both T20Is and ODIs as selectors finally ran out of patience with Pant.

"Rahul is being looked as India's first choice white-ball keeper till the 2021 World T20 and beyond. Also he has impressed everyone with his leadership skills and that's why this elevation as vice-captain," said the source.

Sanju Samson will be the second wicketkeeper in T20 International squad, which also features Kolkata Knight Riders' mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy.

Test call-up for Siraj

Among other notable inclusions, pacer Mohammed Siraj has been rewarded with a Test call-up for his consistent performances. The absence of the injured duo of Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar also paved the way for his selection.

"Siraj and (Navdeep) Saini were automatic choices in Test team once Bhuvi (thigh muscle) and Ishant (left rib cage) were ruled out," said the source.

It is understood that Pant’s dodgy fitness and tendency to put on weight has not gone down well with Sunil Joshi-led selection committee, which wanted that he be served a wake-up call.

"In any case, all three teams will be there, Pant, if need be, can be added to the squad," the source added.

Impressive Varun

It is undoubtedly a big day for the 29-year-old Chennai-based architect Varun, who has played 21 representative matches at the senior level, including 11 T20 games – all in the IPL.

His five-wicket haul against Delhi Capitals is one of the highlights of this IPL and he has bowled brilliantly at the death, mixing his clever variations.

With Kuldeep Yadav not being preferred by his own franchise for the better part, it is Varun, who has stolen the limelight.

The tour will also prove to be a good exposure for T Natarajan, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kartik Tyagi and Ishan Porel.

"Ishan will primarily be a red ball net bowler while Natarajan provides the left-arm variation training for white ball. Kartik Tyagi bowls good yorkers and Kamlesh has pace. In case, any main team bowler gets injured, one of the four can be easily drafted in," said the source.

Squads

T20I: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (vice-captain and wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy     

ODI: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vice-captain and wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur

Test: Virat Kohli (Captain), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Mohammad Siraj. PTI

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.