Team India name unchanged squad for final two Tests

India couldn’t capitalise on the advantage in the second Test as rain played spoilsport

The BCCI selection panel has named an unchanged squad for the last two Test matches against South Africa, on Wednesday, according to ESPN Cricinfo. The panel announced the squad on the final day of second Test in Bengaluru.

Incessant rain had the final say in the Garden City which led to play being officially called off on the fifth and final day of the second Test. Only the first day’s play was possible at the M.Chinnaswamy stadium, in which the hosts dominated yet again and looked set to take 2-0 lead, after bowling out the Proteas for 214 in the first innings.

India had started off strongly with the openers, Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay posting an unbeaten 80-run opening stand at the end of first day’s play. But that turned out to be the last joy for Team India, as rain washed out play on the remaining days of the Test match and the hosts had to be content with a draw.

After facing embarrassment in the limited-version, with losses in T20 and ODI series, India bounced back in style in the opening match of the Test series, as the spinners single-handedly won the Test match for India in Mohali, to take a 1-0 lead.

Players likely to be released for Ranji duties again

The third Test is scheduled to begin on the 25th of November in the city of oranges, Nagpur, where Kohli’s men will look to gain back the momentum which they had earned in the beginning of the second Test, and will look to take an unassailable 2-0 lead.

The final Test of the Freedom series is tentatively scheduled to be played in the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi from December 3, provided the DDCA obtains the required permission and clears all dues.

BCCI had stated that Pune would be hosting the final test, in case the DDCA fails to clear all formalities by the second week of November. Pune was recently added as a Test venue in the BCCI AGM last week.

Umesh Yadav and Gurkeerat Singh Mann were released by the BCCI prior to the start of the second Test, to feature in their respective Ranji teams. It remains to be seen whether the same players will be released for the next two Tests.

Squad for the final two Tests: Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Varun Aaron, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Stuart Binny and Gurkeerat Singh.