India vs England: Jurel’s maiden call-up, Kishan’s exclusion and other takeaways from hosts’ squad for first two Tests

The BCCI made another of their surprise late-night squad announcements on Friday, unveiling the Indian squad for the first two matches of the five-Test series against England. The announcement comes two weeks before the Test series gets underway in Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium from 25 January, with Visakhapatnam’s ACA-VDCA Stadium hosting the second Test from 2 February.

It also comes more than a month after England, who will be playing their first Test series in India in the ‘Bazball’ Era, announced their 16-man squad, including three uncapped players including seamer Gus Atkinson.

Dhruv Jurel’s maiden call-up has got both experts and fans talking since BCCI’s announcement, which also excluded Mohammed Shami and Ishan Kishan. There were a few other changes made to the squad that held South Africa to a 1-1 draw in the recent two-Test series that concluded last week.

Here are some of the key takeaways from India’s squad for the first two Tests:

Jurel’s maiden call-up

Dhruv Jurel’s maiden Indian call-up has been the single biggest talking point since the BCCI’s announcement, with the Uttar Pradesh wicketkeeper-batter getting rewarded after a consistent run as well as a fine outing with the bat for India A recently. Jurel has a First-Class average of 46.47, having collected 790 runs in 15 outings including a century and could be India’s answer to an ideal back-up to Rahul with Srikar Bharat’s batting skills still under the scanner.

Read | When Dhruv Jurel’s mother sold off gold chain for cricket kit

More importantly, Jurel had produced a patient 69 that helped India A collect a first innings lead in their second unofficial Test against South Africa in Benoni, which might have played a major role in his selection.

“I am very proud and happy because he is one of our key motivators and key performance indicators. He is a really good player, and he’s working really hard,” Rajasthan Royals coach Kumar Sangakkara said on Saturday reacting to Jurel’s selection.

Shami and Kishan’s exclusion

Missing from the squad for the first two Tests are Mohammed Shami and Ishan Kishan, albeit for entirely different reasons. Shami hasn’t played competitive cricket since the ICC World Cup final against Australia on 19 November due to an ankle injury that came to light after the mega event. While Shami is yet to regain match fitness, he could play a part in the second half of the series.

Watch: Kishan posts cryptic video amid speculation over absence from Indian team

As for Kishan, he opted for a mental health break after the T20I series against Australia at home and was not part of the tour of South Africa as well as the ongoing series against Afghanistan. Head coach Rahul Dravid however, recently made it clear that Kishan would have to prove his fitness in Ranji Trophy if he was to be considered eligible for selection for the England Tests.

Kishan’s yet to contact the Jharkhand team, but should he do so, he might be considered for the remaining Tests.

Rahul remains Test keeper for now

With Kishan not being named in the squad, KL Rahul remains India’s wicketkeeper-batter in Tests for now. There had been reports of the BCCI looking to appoint Kishan as India’s keeper for the red-ball format and Rahul playing as a specialist batter.

That plan, however, appears to have been shelved for now though it could change in the remaining three Tests should Kishan get a call-up after playing a match or two in the Ranji Trophy. Rahul has been in fine form of late, scoring a hard-fought century in the first Test against South Africa in Centurion, and will look to carry that form over to the England series.

Injured Prasidh, Thakur fail to make the cut

Meanwhile, seamers Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur weren’t included in the squad after featuring in the Test series in South Africa. Both absences, however, can be attributed to injury concerns. Thakur was hit on the shoulder during a nets session ahead of the Cape Town Test while Krisha picked up a left quadriceps injury while representing Karnataka during their Ranji fixture against Gujarat on Friday.

Both Prasidh and Thakur were expensive in the first Test against the Proteas at Centurion, with stand-in skipper Dean Elgar toying with the two during the post-lunch session on Day 2. Prasidh fared a lot better in the following Test in Cape Town, and that performance might just help him get picked in the remaining Tests should he regain fitness.