Dhruv Jurel joins India squad for opening tests against England; Shami, Ishan Kishan miss out

livemint.com:

Indian Men's Cricket Team has included four spinners in its squad for the first two tests against England but experienced fast bowler Mohammed Shami is not yet fit to take part. Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel has received a maiden call-up for the Indian Test squad for the first two Tests. India named four spinners--Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav--in their Test squad for the first two matches.

Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav did not travel to South Africa for the recent test series against the Proteas but come back into contention on home pitches that are expected to take plenty of turn. They join Ravichandran Ashwin and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in a 16-man party that will contest the opening games of the five-match series in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. When England last toured India in 2021 when it crumbled in the face of extreme turn as Ashwin and Patel combined to take 60 wickets.

Uncapped wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel was one of three glovemen named Friday by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, joining KL Rahul and KS Bharat, with Ishan Kishan still out after missing the recent South Africa tour for personal reasons. Shami is currently recovering from an ankle problem and hopes to feature later in the five-match series, which begins in Hyderabad on Jan. 25, while fellow pace bowler Prasidh Krishna (quad) is also out.

The veteran batter Rohit Sharma will lead the team, with star pacer Jasprit Bumrah taking up the role of vice captain. Meanwhile, India has added three wicketkeepers, KL Rahul, KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel, to the squad. The middle-order positions are occupied by Virat Kohli, Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and Shubman Gill in the batting lineup, which is unchanged.