India Squad For First Two England Tests To Be Picked On January 19, Key Names Likely To Miss Out Due To Injuries

The newly-formed national selection committee will reportedly meet on Tuesday (January 19) to pick the squad for the first two home Tests against England. The meeting has been scheduled for 5 PM IST and will take place over a Zoom call and feature captain Virat Kohli, who is currently on paternity leave. Team India is currently in Australia for the ongoing Test series which will conclude on Tuesday.

According to Cricbuzz, there will be not too many changes to the present squad since the team has done extremely well in Australia. Fitness looks like the only major parameter that will decide the selections from the Chetan Sharma-led panel. A host of key players are currently sidelined after suffering injuries in Australia.

The report further stated that the focus will be on Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin. Both the bowlers missed the ongoing Test because of injuries. Bumrah is sidelined with an abdominal strain while Ashwin missed the Brisbane Test because of a back issue. The report also stated that Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari are out of contention because of injuries.

Jadeja recently underwent a surgery on his thumb while Vihari was sidelined with a major hamstring injury. Fast-bowlers Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav are set to be unavailable too due to their wrist and calf injury respectively. The selectors, however, do not face a tough situation since several new faces have proved themselves in Australia.

The likes of Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan and Washington Sundar have provided the team management with a happy headache and all of them are likely to be retained. Meanwhile, the four-Test series against England is scheduled to start on February 5 in Chennai. The second Test will be played from February 13 at the same venue.

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