IND vs BAN: KL Rahul named captain of India as Rohit Sharma failed first test

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed on Sunday (December 11) that Indian captain Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the opening match against Bangladesh due to injury.

Rohit suffered a left thumb injury in cyclo-cross during the second ODI against Bangladesh in Mirpur on Wednesday (December 7). Later, the scans revealed the dislocation of the thumb.

UPDATE 🚨: Changes on #TeamIndia‘s squad for the Test series against Bangladesh.

Rohit Sharma excluded from 1st test. KL Rahul to lead. Abhimanyu Easwaran named as replacement.

Mohd Shami and Ravindra Jadeja excluded from test series. Navdeep Saini and Saurabh Kumar replace them.

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 11, 2022

The Indian captain has traveled back to India to assess the severity of his injury. The Senior Selection Committee has appointed Bangladeshi captain Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement for the first test.

In his absence, KL Rahul will lead team India in the first Test against Bangladesh. Cheteshwar Pujara has been appointed vice-captain. Meanwhile, the decision on Rohit’s availability for the second test will be made later.

“India captain Rohit Sharma met with a specialist in Mumbai for his left thumb injury, which he sustained during the 2nd ODI against Bangladesh. He has been advised appropriate management for this injury and will not be available for the first Test against Bangladesh. The BCCI Medical Team will call at a later stage regarding its availability for the second and final Test. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has appointed Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement for the first Test,” the BCCI said in a statement.

Ravindra Jadeja & Mohd. Shami excluded from Bangladesh Test Series

Apart from Rohit Sharma, star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and senior pacer Mohammed Shami have failed to recover from their respective injuries and the BCCI have named Saurabh Kumar and Navdeep Saini as replacements in the Test squad.

Saurashtra pacer Jaydev Unadkat has also been added to India’s test squad against Bangladesh.

“Fast bowler Mohd. Shami and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja have yet to fully recover from their respective shoulder and knee injuries and will be ruled out of the Test series. The selectors have named Navdeep Saini and Saurabh Kumar as replacements for Shami and Jadeja respectively. The selection committee has also added fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat to India’s squad for the Test series,” the statement said.

India squad for first Test vs Bangladesh:

KL Rahul (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav , Abhimanyu Easwaran, Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat