Ind vs Aus 2020: Virat Kohli to return home after first Test; Rohit Sharma added to squad as BCCI announce major changes in Indian team

The BCCI has announced major changes to the Indian squad which will be travelling to Australia later this month. The most significant update is that captain Virat Kohli, who is expecting his first child at the turn of the year, has been allowed paternity leave and will travel back to India after the first Test match.

Opening batsman Rohit Sharma, who was originally omitted from all three squads owing to a hamstring injury, has been added to the Test squad amid controversy regarding his exclusion after he returned to the Mumbai Indians playing XI.

The BCCI Senior Selection Committee once again met on Sunday to discuss changes to the squad and released a statement regarding the same.

“At the selection committee meeting held on October 26th, 2020, Mr Virat Kohli had informed the BCCI about his plans to return to India after the first Test in Adelaide. The BCCI has granted paternity leave to the Indian captain. He will return after the first Test against Australia in Adelaide,” the press release read.

As to the case of Rohit Sharma, “the BCCI Medical Team has been monitoring Rohit Sharma’s fitness and has briefed All-India Senior Selection Committee on the same. In consultation with Mr Sharma, it has been decided to rest him for the ODIs and T20Is in Australia to regain full fitness and he has been included in India’s Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.”

Varun Chakravarthy, who had earned a maiden international call-up in the T20I squad, missed out in the end due to a shoulder injury. Fellow Tamil Nadu player and Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer T Natarajan has replaced him in the squad.

Updates - India’s Tour of Australia The All-India Senior Selection Committee met on Sunday to pick certain replacements after receiving injury reports and updates from the BCCI Medical Team.More details here - https://t.co/8BSt2vCaXt #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/Ge0x7bCRBU

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 9, 2020

Wriddhiman Saha hasn’t been removed from the squad yet, but his case will be monitored, and a call will be taken later depending on his recovery from his injury. Saha had injured both his hamstrings while playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.

Sanju Samson, who was named as the back-up wicket-keeper in T20Is, has now earned a call-up to the ODI squad as well.

India’s tour will commence with ODIs on November 27

The Indian cricket team kick off their tour of Australia with the first ODI on November 27.

The Indian squad is set to travel to Australia from Dubai on November 12 after the ongoing IPL comes to a close. The ODI series will commence on November 27.

Check out the full schedule of the tour here

The tour will include three ODIs, three T20Is and four Test matches. The first Test match will be a Day-Night affair and will start on December 17.

The revised squads for the tour are as follows:

T20I squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (vice-captain and wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan.

ODI squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vice-captain & wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper).

Test squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Mohd. Siraj.