India Tour of Australia 2020: Rohit Sharma not a part of squads, Varun Chakravarthy receives maiden T20I call-up

India Tour of Australia 2020: Rohit Sharma not a part of squads, Varun Chakravarthy receives maiden T20I call-up

WhatsApp Image 2020 09 04 at 5.47.48 PM

India’s squads for T20Is, ODIs and Tests for their tour of Australia in November have been announced. The BCCI on their Twitter handle announced that “The All-India Senior Selection Committee met via video-conference on Monday to select the Indian Cricket Team for the upcoming Tour of Australia. Team India will take part in three T20Is, three ODIs and four Test matches against Australia.”

The squads have raised a few eyebrows for some surprise inclusions and exclusions. Further, there is no specialist wicket-keeper for India in ODIs.

The first two ODIs will be played at the SCG, the third ODI and the first T20I will take place in Canberra. The second and the third T20Is will also take place at SCG. The Test series will start with a pink-ball test in Adelaide. The next matches will be at MCG, SCG and Brisbane.

The full list of squads are as follows:

Rohit Sharma not a part of squads; Siraj, Chakravarthy get call-ups

Varun Chakravarthy

The biggest and most significant surprise was the exclusion of the currently injured Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma. Sharma suffered an injury during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). He has been missing his side’s IPL games for the past two matches. The news of his exclusion could also come as a blow to the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise. This would probably mean he would miss the IPL as well.

There have been other surprises such as the fact that there is only one wicket-keeper in the ODI squad in the form of new vice-captain KL Rahul. Further, Rishabh Pant has been dropped from limited overs squads following concerns about his fitness. Sanju Samson has been picked for T20Is.

The biggest surprise in terms of inclusion is that of spinner Varun Chakravarthy. The Tamil Nadu spinner who hadn’t played a single T20 before being selected for the IPL has been impressing with his showings for his franchise Kolkata Knight Riders. He picked up a 5-wicket haul yesterday in his side’s win over Delhi Capitals. Another surprise inclusion is that of Mohammed Siraj in Tests.

Also Read: Full list of squads for India’s tour of Australia announced