India squad announced for last two Tests and ODI series against Australia

India has announced their squads on Sunday for the third and fourth Test matches of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the three-match ODI series against Australia.

Barring left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat’s inclusion in the squad after he was released from the second Test in Delhi to play the Ranji Trophy final against Bengal, there have not been any significant changes in the Test squad for the remaining two matches.

Earlier on Sunday, Unadkat led his state team Saurashtra to win the second Ranji Trophy title in the last three seasons, after a six-wicket win over Bengal in the final at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata.

31-year-old Unadkat led his team from the front and was named the Player of the Match for his brilliant figures of 3/44 and 6/85 in the final.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee is currently without a chairman after the resignation of former chairman Mr Chetan Sharma. Interestingly, the committee did not name a vice-captain in the squad for the remaining two Test matches.

In the first two Tests, Indian opener KL Rahul was named as the vice-captain of the team but now there are some serious concerns over his form. In his last five Tests, Rahul has scored just 117 runs, averaging 13 with a best of 23.

Earlier, India won the second Test against Australia by six wickets with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja claiming match-winning figures of 7/42 in the second innings helping India retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, on Sunday.

With this win, India has taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match Test series. For his 10/110 and 26 runs overall, Jadeja was named the Player of the Match in the second Test.

Surprisingly, Australia lost nine wickets for 52 runs from 19.1 overs in the morning session on Day 3. In reply, India chased down the target of 115 from 26.4 overs with six wickets in hand.

India will play the third Test of the series at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore from March 1, following which they move to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to play the final match of the series from March 9.

India needs just one more win to secure their place in the ICC World Test Championship final, which will be played from June 7 at the Oval, in London.

India’s Test squad for the third and fourth Test against Australia: Rohit Sharma (Captain), K L Rahul, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.

India’s regular captain Rohit Sharma will be unavailable for the first ODI due to family commitments and in his absence, Hardik Pandya will lead the side in the first ODI on March 17 at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai.

Notably, Unadkat has been rewarded with a place in the ODI squad too after his terrific performance in the domestic circuit over the last few seasons. Apart from Unadkat, the other pacers in the ODI squad are Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik and Shardul Thakur.

Unadkat played his last ODI in November 2013 in Kochi against the West Indies. However, Unadkat has been on the radar of the selectors for the ODIs for quite some time.

It has been learnt that the selectors were impressed by his performance in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he took 19 wickets from ten games and was the highest-wicket taker, helping Saurashtra win the title.

34-year-old Jadeja also makes a return to the ODI squad after making a memorable comeback into Test cricket following a five-month injury break.

However, Indian pace bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah continues to miss his place in the ODI squad as he is still recovering from his back injury.

India’s ODI squad against Australia: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, K L Rahul, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Jaydev Unadkat.