India Names 18-Member Squad for Border-Gavaskar Series; Easwaran, Rana, and Reddy Among New Picks

Mumbai: India has unveiled its 18-member squad for the eagerly awaited Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia, set to begin on November 22 in Perth. The team includes new faces Abhimanyu Easwaran, Harshit Rana, and Nitish Reddy, while spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been sidelined to address a chronic groin injury at the BCCI Centre of Excellence following the ongoing Test series with New Zealand.

Bengal’s prolific run-scorer Abhimanyu Easwaran has earned a call-up as the third-choice opener, backing up Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Though Mohammed Shami continues his recovery, the Indian pace lineup remains strong, led by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

Akash Deep keeps his place in the squad after notable performances against England and Bangladesh at home. Karnataka’s Prasidh Krishna returns to the Test setup following a stress fracture, having recently impressed in India A’s Duleep Trophy victory.

Fast bowler Harshit Rana has capped off a stellar 2024, which saw him secure an IPL title, with his first Test call-up, adding to his T20I and ODI debuts this year. Similarly, Andhra all-rounder Nitish Reddy steps into the Test squad after a solid IPL season and recent T20I debut. India has also named Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, and Khaleel Ahmed as reserve pace options.

Washington Sundar, who has been making strides in his Test career since his debut in Australia, also joins the squad, while all-rounder Axar Patel has been omitted.

India Squad:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Jasprit Bumrah (Vice-Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (Wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (Wicketkeeper), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar

Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed