After much anticipation, the Indian management has named an 18-member team for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), scheduled to be held in November-December.

Expected to be one of India’s toughest challenges in the current World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 ​​cycle, the five-match Test series will decide India’s fate in qualifying for the final.

Keeping this in mind, the Indian selectors have named a diverse squad in which players like national stalwart Abhimanyu Easwaran and Indian Premier League (IPL) sensation Nitish Kumar Reddy are called up for the showpiece series.

Bengal batsman Abhimanyu Easwaran finally got preference over the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sai Sudarshan to take over as the reserve opener. Nitish Kumar Reddy, on the other hand, was already selected by the management and captain Rohit Sharma had also recently revealed that he was being groomed to travel Down Under.

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Indian selectors make shocking exclusions

Among the major exclusions, spinner Kuldeep Yadav and talismanic pacer Mohammed Shami are not in the list.

The BCCI, in its official press release, clarified that Kuldeep Yadav was not available for selection.

The BCCI statement read: “Kuldeep Yadav was not available for selection for the tour of Australia as he was referred to the BCCI Center of Excellence after the end of the ongoing Test series against New Zealand for long-term resolution of his chronic left groin problem. .”

As for Shami, who was recovering from an ankle injury, it is understood that he will not be fit in time to appear on BGT.

India have also named three fast bowlers – Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed in the roaming reserves.