Virat Kohli to miss last 3 Tests against Australia, Rohit Sharma included in revised squad

Team India skipper Virat Kohli is set to miss the last three Test matches against Australia as the BCCI has granted him paternity leave, the board said on Monday. With several players sustaining injuries during the IPL 2020, the BCCI has made several additional adjustments to the previously announced squad for the upcoming tour of Australia which commences on November 28. The national board has also decided to include Rohit Sharma to the Test squad while resting him for the limited-overs series after he sustained an injury in the IPL. 

With Rohit Sharma's inclusion in India's Test squad for the Australia series, it is likely that the opening batsman will also lead the team, after Kohli's departure. Ajinkya Rahane, the Test vice-captain, could also be leading the squad in place of Virat Kohli. However, there has been no final decision on it yet. 

Moreover, Kolkata's find of the IPL 2020, Varun Chakravarthy has been ruled out of the T20 series after sustaining a shoulder injury in the UAE. Hyderabad's yorker sensation T Natrajan has been included in the T20 series instead of Chakravarthy. Decision on Wriddhiman Saha's inclusion in the Test squad will be taken later as he sustained a hamstring tear in the IPL game on November 3. 

The board has also been monitoring veteran speedster Ishant Sharma, and a call on his inclusion will be taken once he gains sufficient match fitness. The selection committee has added Sanju Samson as an additional wicketkeeper to the ODI squad while Kamlesh Nagarkoti has been pulled out of the tour as he is still working with the medical team on his bowling workload management.

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Revised Squads: 

• Team India T20I squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (vice-captain and wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan.
• Team India ODI squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vice-captain & wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper).
• Team India Test squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Mohd. Siraj.

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India tour of Australia 

India will kick off their tour to Australia with a three-match ODI series starting on Friday, 27 November, followed by as many T20Is and four Tests. The T20Is will be played in Canberra (4 December) and Sydney (6, 8 December). 

The first Test will be a day/night affair, from 17-21 December at the Adelaide Oval. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (26-30 December) will host the Boxing Day Test, before the action moves to the Sydney Cricket Ground (7-11 January) and the Gabba (15-19 January). With India currently on top of the World Test Championship table and Australia in second, the series is expected to be a thriller, as it will also be a part of the ICC World Test Championship. 

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