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BCCI selectors are reportedly worried about India not 'moving on' from Rohit Sharma's captaincy and hence have included him in the list for the England Test series. Rohit Sharma has reportedly made it to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors’ list of 35 players that’ll be split between India and India ‘A’ team’s tour of England in the summer. According to a report in The Times of India, the selectors are ‘not sure’ that the team is ready to ‘move on’ from his captaincy.
India will play five Tests against England between June 20 and August 4. That’ll be preceded by a tour of the India ‘A’ team, where youngsters and fringe players will participate and bid for the first team. The speculation around Rohit began late last year when he pulled himself out of a Test against Australia due to his form, though neither him or BCCI have formally commented about his future in the longest format.
“Rohit is most likely to travel as the board feels that one needs a strong captain through the series, which is likely to be as tough as the Australia tour," the report cited a BCCI source as saying. The report added that one of the selectors’ areas of concern is finding a ‘steady’ middle-order Test batter at number five or six, with Rajat Patidar and Karun Nair as the candidates. Shreyas Iyer and all-rounder Axar Patel, meanwhile, have seemingly not been included in the list so far.
“With regard to the middle-order, the team management has shown very little confidence in Sarfaraz Khan’s ability. Nair and Patidar are seasoned red-ball players and are in fine form. It is likely at least one of them will be in the India ‘A’ team.
As for Iyer, he was dropped last year based on his poor returns in Test cricket. A final call is yet to be taken," the quoted source added. The report further claimed that the selectors are concerned about Mohammed Siraj’s ability to step up as a third pacer, while, in the spin department, they have included Kuldeep Yadav, possibly as a backup for Ravichandran Ashwin.
They are looking at Sai Sudharsan for the third opener’s role. Meanwhile, some first-team Test players could be included in the ‘A’ team list to get some game time before the main rubber..
