India name 19-member squad for tour of Australia, injured MS Dhoni to miss 1st Test

MS Dhoni is unlikely to be fit for 1st Test vs Australia

Indian skipper MS Dhoni has been ruled out of the first TS DMest against Australia starting December 4 in Brisbane, and will also miss the rest of the Sri Lanka series, according to various reports.

Dhoni was rested for the first 3 matches against Sri Lanka in the ongoing ODI series, with Virat Kohli leading the side in his absence.

BCCI have named a 19-member squad for the tour of Australia, including Wriddhiman Saha and Naman Ojha in the squad as backup for the injured skipper.

TEST SQUAD FOR AUSTRALIAN TOUR: MS Dhoni (c), Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Karn Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron.

Karnataka opener KL Rahul and leg spinner Karn Sharma are new entrants in the squad, while Suresh Raina too makes a comeback to the Test side after 2012 New Zealand series at home.

Virat will be the stand-in skipper for the 1st Test (MSD rested). MS Dhoni will lead the team for the rest of the Test series #AusvsInd

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 10, 2014

The regular Indian skipper is said to have hurt his forearm and isn’t expected to be fit for the first of the 4-match Test series. The Indian team is scheduled to leave for Australia on November 21.

Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney are the venues of the four Tests, scheduled from December 4 – January 7.

It’ll be the second consecutive Test in Australia where Dhoni will be absent. In India’s last tour to Australia in 2011/12, Dhoni had to sit out of the final fixture after he was handed a one-match ban due to slow over rate. In his absence, Virender Sehwag led the side on that occasion.

Kohli has been impressive as a leader in the limited overs format, and if Dhoni fails to recover in time for the first Test, will have his first tryst with leadership in Tests too.