Calcutta/Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will not be part of the India squad for the one-off Test versus Afghanistan.
Ajinkya Rahane has been named captain of the side, after the selection committee meeting in Bangalore on Tuesday, while Kohli gears up for the tour of England with a County stint with Surrey.
Kohli's County stint helped Karun Nair make a comeback in the Test squad after 14 months, which features almost other regulars in the longest format. "Except Virat, all the Test specialists are playing. He is going for a cause as he wants to come well prepared for the England Test series.
"It is always good that he goes there and performs well. He is very keen to do extremely well in English conditions. It is a great opportunity for us to win the series," chairman of selectors MSK Prasad said at a media conference.
Pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested as they are expected to shoulder the workload during the limited-overs leg in UK before the big-ticket Test series in August.
Even though Rahane will be leading the squad against Afghanistan, he found no place in squad for the three ODIs versus England. He was part of India's 50-over squad during the South Africa tour, with Kohli projecting him as a possible No.4 for next year's World Cup. Along with Rahane, Manish Pandey too has been dropped from the ODI team. Pandey was selected only for the T20Is versus Ireland and England.
Ambati Rayudu and Lokesh Rahul, both of whom are amongst runs in this IPL, were notable comebacks in the squad for the England tour, while wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik too earned a place for the limited-overs leg of India's tour of the UK.
Young speedster Siddarth Kaul was rewarded with a T20I berth against Ireland and England for his consistent IPL performance. Kaul was picked for the ODI series against Sri Lanka at home, but didn't get to play any of the matches.
Despite having worked on his variations, Ravichandran Ashwin continues to be dropped for the shorter versions. Ravindra Jadeja too finds himself in a similar situation as Ashwin and he are there only for the one-off Test.
The lone finger spinner in the T20I squad, Washington Sundar, managed to make a foray into the ODI squad despite having a lacklustre IPL so far. Sundar's Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate Umesh Yadav forced a comeback with the number of wickets he has taken and an economy of 8.14 in IPL XI, replacing Mohammed Shami in both the limited-overs squads.
Sundar came in place of Akshar Patel.
