Dhruv Jurel picked for England Tests; Shami, Kishan out

The selectors stuck to the tried and tested while announcing India's team for the first two Tests against England, with Uttar Pradesh wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel the lone new face.

Rohit Sharma will lead the 16-man side, while Jasprit Bumrah will be his deputy.

Senior pacer Mohammed Shami was not named in the squad as he continues his recovery process from the injury he suffered during the ODI World Cup last year.

Shami was also not part of India's squad that toured South Africa recently.

Karnataka pacer Prasidh Krishna was also not considered as he sustained a left quadricep injury during the Ranji Trophy match against Gujarat earlier on Friday before the team was announced.

Pace bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur also missed out but left-arm spinner Axar Patel made an expected comeback to the side.

However, the inclusion of Uttar Pradesh player Jurel headlined the selection.

The 22-year-old was part of the India A squad that played two matches against their South African counterparts in December last year.

He scored 69 in the second match at Benoni and, more recently, a 63 for UP against Kerala in a first round Ranji Trophy group game at Alappuzha.

Jurel, who made his First Class debut last year against Vidarbha, has so far aggregated 790 runs from 15 matches, at an average of 46, including a hundred and five fifties, in the domestic circuit.

However, K S Bharat could be the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter. The selectors also named K L Rahul for the role.

Rahul donned the big gloves in the two Tests against South Africa with a fair amount of success, but it is unlikely that the Bengaluru man will continue in the role against England as India are certain to field three spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar, a move that warrants a specialist behind the stumps.

The first Test will be played at Hyderabad from January 25 and the second at Visakhapatnam, from February 2.

India Test squad for the first two Tests against England: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Avesh Khan.

Schedule: India vs England Test Series
1st Test: Hyderabad, January 25-29
2nd Test: Visakhapatnam, February 2-6
3rd Test: Rajkot, February 15-19
4th Test: Ranchi, February 23-27
5th Test: Dharamsala, March 7-11