Rohit Sharma ruled out of the first Test against Bangladesh; replacement announced

Indian captain Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the upcoming first Test against Bangladesh, starting December 14 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the developments on Sunday and also confirmed the unavailability of Ravindra Jadeja along with Mohammed Shami for the entire Test series.

Rohit, who injured his thumb during the second ODI, met a specialist in Mumbai and has been advised to rest. As a result of which Abhimanyu Easwaran has been drafted in to replace Rohit. Notably, Easwaran smashed centuries in both games against Bangladesh A recently.

In the absence of Rohit, opener KL Rahul will lead Team India in the series opener. Senior batter Cheteshwar Pujara has been named as the vice-captain. Similarly, Navdeep Saini and Saurabh Kumar have been added to the squad as replacements of Shami and Jadeja, respectively.

“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 of appropriate management for this injury and will not be available for the first Test against Bangladesh. The BCCI Medical Team will take a call on his availability for the second and final Test at a later stage. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement for the first Test,” read the BCCI release.

“Fast bowler Mohd. Shami and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja are yet to fully recover from their respective shoulder and knee injuries and are 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 release added.

India’s squad for the first Test (updated):

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, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat