India set to remove star pacers from their Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 squad

Team India are all set to release three players from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy squad to play in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy, a domestic 50-over tournament in India. The three players are Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal, and Navdeep Saini.

All these players are fast bowlers which means the team's fast bowling personnel will be significantly reduced. But the management feels that the players can get some much required game-time by playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which will start from December 21.

Also read: Pakistan finally drop Babar Azam's struggling teammate, announce XI for 3rd SA T20I

Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal, and Navdeep Saini set to be released

Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal, and Navdeep Saini are yet to play a match in the ongoing Test series against Australia. The three quicks have been the backups for the frontline fast bowlers in the original squad.

Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal and Navdeep Saini to be released from the Indian squad. They'll head back to India to play Vijay Hazare Trophy. #BGT #AUSvIND

— Subhayan Chakraborty (@CricSubhayan) December 15, 2024

While Mukesh relies on swing and seam, and is also a genuine wicket-taker with the new ball, Yash Dayal provides the left-arm option. Navdeep Saini, meanwhile, has the pace and height for Australian pitches, which is the reason why he was initially picked in the squad.

While Mukesh Kumar and Yash Dayal are yet to play a Test in Australia, Navdeep Saini made his Test debut in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21. However, he got injured midway through the Gabba Test on that tour and that turned out to be his last Test so far.

Remaining fast bowlers in India's squad

With just two Tests remaining after the ongoing Test in Brisbane, the team management feels that the original fast bowlers might be enough to do the job. Currently, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep are playing at the Gabba with Nitish Kumar Reddy featuring as a fast bowling allrounder.

Apart from these quicks, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna are the other two fast bowlers in the squad. Rana played the first two Tests of the series but was dropped after a disappointing outing in Adelaide. Krishna is yet to get a game on this tour.

Jasprit Bumrah the spearhead of the attack

The pace bowling is spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah, who has been the pick of the bowlers this series so far among both the teams. Bumrah has been exceptional with his skills and played a key role in the team's win in the first Test at Perth.

He led the team in the absence of Rohit Sharma in the first Test and led from the front. Bumrah was also adjudged the Player of the Match for his brilliance with the ball. He picked up eight wickets in the match.

Mohammed Siraj is the other fast bowler in the squad to have previous experience of playing in Australia. Siraj made his Test debut during India's last tour to Australia and since then, he has been an integral part of India's Test team.

The series is currently level 1-1 with both the teams giving a tough fight to each other so far. While India threw the first punch at Perth, Australia came back hard with a brilliant comeback win in Adelaide.