Fighting opening batsman KL Rahul has retained his place in the Indian squad for the third and fourth tests of the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. Interestingly, he has not been named vice-captain.
Left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat, who was released from the squad for the second Test so he could play in the Ranji Trophy final, also returns for the final two games against the Australians.
Unadkat was Man of the Match in the Ranji Trophy final against Bengal. He claimed nine wickets as Saurashtra won the major domestic competition for the second time.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Indian squad for the remaining Test matches on Sunday (February 19) following the hosts’ six-wicket triumph over the Australians in Delhi in the second Test.
As previously reported, leading pacer Jasprit Bumrah has not been included in the squad for the remaining Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 Tests. That is as he continues to recover from the back injury that has kept him out of international cricket since September of last year.
The third round of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 will be played in Indore from March 1-5. The final match of the series will be held in Ahmedabad from March 9-13.
India Test Squad for the 3rd and 4th Tests against Australia: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, KS Bharat (week), Ishan Kishan (week), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat
‘I think he has the quality and class to come out of this’ – Team India coach backs KL Rahul
While some former Indian players like Venkatesh Prasad called for Rahul’s sacking, India team manager Rahul Dravid backed the rocky start. He assured that the team’s management has faith in his talent and quality.
Speaking to the host broadcaster after India’s six wicket win over Australia in Delhi, Dravid said:
“I think you need to trust your processes. This is just a phase; He has been one of our most successful overseas starters. He has hundreds in South Africa and England; We will continue to support him.”
He continued:
“I think he has the quality and the class to get out of this. This unit is great to work with; format management is the hardest part. But there’s not a lot of technical training, just simple conversations and challenges, and giving them a pat on the back when they get it right.”
Rahul has recorded scores of 20, 17 and one in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.