India squad pruned for final two Australia Tests
India named a 15-man squad for the final two Test matches against Australia, with all-rounder Hardik Pandya the only absentee from the squad for the first two games.
Murali Vijay, who missed the Bengaluru Test with a sore shoulder, has been retained in the squad while the selectors resisted an urge to call up injury prone pacer Mohammed Shami back into the Test fold.
The 27-year-old Bengal seamer made his competitive return in a Vijay Hazare Trophy clash against Gujarat earlier this week after spending more than three months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Uncapped all-rounder Pandya, originally named in the squad for the first two Tests, was not available for selection ahead of the second Test after picking up a shoulder niggle. The 23-year-old first sustained a shoulder injury while training at the PCA Stadium in Mohali during the England Tests.
The Australia series, currently tied 1-1, will culminate with games at first-time Test venues Ranchi and Dharamsala.
Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Abhinav Mukund, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav
