The India squad will be announced in two weeks for their upcoming tour of England, informed BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia. The selection committee, among whom Ajit Agarkar is the chairman, will convene to discuss possible inclusions prior to the IPL final. Asked whether senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli would be included, Saikia kept his cards close to his chest, stating that it was for the selectors to decide if they would go on the tour.
Setting off for the opening of a new World Test Championship cycle, India would play five Tests in England from June 20 to August 4. Since, for the first time, India missed out on the WTC final, they shall be eager to make a strong beginning. An ‘A’ team will also be sent into action from May 30 against the England Lions for three four-day matches, and some regular Test players will probably be in England by May 25.
The upcoming series will be snappily challenging since India is coming out of its tail after two Test series defeats and considering that the team absorbed recently a historic 0-3 whitewash in New Zealand followed shortly by a 3-1 loss in Australia. That series also exposed some cracks within the team, especially concerning the inconsistent performances of Rohit and Kohli. Rohit amassed only 164 runs across his eight innings last season, whereas Kohli, despite scoring a hundred in the first Test at Perth, hardly did well afterward, accumulating just 85 runs in the last four Tests. Rohit had even gone against playing the last Test in Australia but made it clear that he isn’t retiring from Test cricket.
There has been a lot of speculation about the futures of Rohit and Kohli and how that will affect their selection for England. Still, head coach Gautam Gambhir feels there is room for anyone who does well. When you perform, you are in the side; when you choose not to, you are out. As per Gambhir’s comments to ABP News:
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No one can eventually tell you when to quit. If you can do the job well enough, why stop at 40? Keep on going until 45, if that’s what you want. It will be interesting to see if selectors will trust their keeping Rohit’s faith at the age of 38 as India begins this new World Test Championship.
