‘Looks like a mini Zimbabwe team’ – Fans express their concern about India’s squad for last 3 Tests against England, not featuring Virat Kohli

India announced its squad for the last three Tests against England. Some forced and unforced changes can be seen in the squad. Rohit Sharma continues to lead the side, while Jasprit Bumrah will be the vice-captain. The Indian top order will have the likes of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the mix, both of whom are youngsters and were in good form in the last match. 

The squad also features some talented batters in the middle order like Rajat Patidar and Sarfraz Khan. There are some good All-Rounders on the side like Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Washington Sundar. KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel who shall continue to be the WK batters in the squad. Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Mukesh Kumar are the genuine bowlers in the squad. 

The Indian Cricket Board released the updated squad in their statement. Akash Deep has been called as a replacement for Avesh Khan, who was released from the squad to take part in the Ranji Trophy 2024 for Madhya Pradesh. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja return to the squad for the last three Tests. However, their participation in the third Test is dependent on their fitness.  

Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer to not play the last three Tests

Virat Kohli is set to miss the entire series against England. The star batter has cited personal reasons for his exclusion. For the first time in his career, Virat will be missing an entire Test series. In their statement, the Indian Cricket Board added that they respect the decision of the former skipper. They also discouraged further speculations about Virat Kohli’s absence and urged the privacy of the star batter. It looks like the 35-year-old will only be available for the IPL 2024 from here. 

On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the last three Tests of the series against England. It is claimed that Iyer has a stiff back and a groin injury, which has ruled him out of the last three Tests. Rahul is likely to replace Iyer in the playing XI in the 3rd Test if he gets declared fit. If not, Sarfaraz Khan might get an opportunity to make it to the much-awaited Test debut. 

Here’s how the fans reacted to the news –

Iyer kicked out*