Rohit Sharma was handed another opportunity to find his feet in the longest version of the game when he was named in the 18-member squad for the four Test series in Australia on Friday. The national selectors, who met in Pune ahead of the third one-day international against West Indies, also recalled opener M Vijay and wicketkeeper batsman Parthiv Patel. More from MSK Prasad on Hardik exclusion and Rohit inclusion for Australia Tests: "Hardik Pandya has not fully recovered for Tests. We felt that Rohit's nature of play, a very good back-foot player, is suited for Australia" #AUSvIND — Sreshth Shah (@sreshthx) October 26, 2018 Karnataka opener Mayank Agarwal, who was part of the Indian squad for the two Tests against West Indies was dropped without getting any opportunity to play while Dinesh Karthik was not considered after the dismal England tour. The selectors also announced the squads for the T20 Internationals against West Indies and Australia. While skipper Virat Kohli has been rested for games against West Indies, MS Dhoni hasn’t found a place in both the squads. India’s Test squad: Virat Kohli (C), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jaspreet Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. (More to follow)<doc-sep>India announced their 18-member test tour for Australia. (Source: PTI) India announced their 18-member test tour for Australia. (Source: PTI) The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named the 18-member squad which will take on Australia in the upcoming four-match Test series scheduled to begin from December 6. While Shikhar Dhawan retained his spot in the Virat Kohli led side, Murali Vijay and Rohit Sharma have also been recalled. Vijay, after losing his spot from the India Test side, found his rhythm back as he slammed four half-centuries and one century in his maiden County season with Essex. Notching a brilliant ton and a half-century against Nottinghamshire, the right-handed batsman continued to get runs as he scored 85 against Worcestershire and 80 against Surrey. Rohit Sharma’s ability to play off the backfoot might have tilted the balance in his favour. Mayank Agarwal was overlooked once again. Parthiv Patel has also been included in the squad as the second choice wicket-keeper with Rishabh Pant remaining in the playing eleven. Hardik Pandya has been dropped as he failed to recover from his injury on time. Hanuma Vihari, who scored a half-century in his debut Test at Oval, also finds a place in the squad. He is back in whites – @ImRo45 is back in the Test squad for the Australia series #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/3CU85AXzLc — BCCI (@BCCI) 26 October 2018 Meanwhile, Ishant Sharma, who had earlier sustained an injury in India’s recent tour to England, has also been included. The right-arm fast bowler is still working hard on his fitness as he was seen practicing on the nets ahead of India’s second ODI against West Indies. Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the other seamers. The spin department will be led by R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja. The T20 squad will be led by Kohli. Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya and Khaleel Ahmed get a chance. Indian cricket team depart for Australia after the series against Windies where they will face the hosts in 3 T20I matches beginning from November 21 at The Gabba, Brisbane. It will be followed by two more matches in Melbourne and Sydney. India Test squad vs Australia: Virat Kohli (C), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Shami, Ishant, Umesh, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. India T20I squad vs Australia: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit (vc), Shikhar, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish, DK, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed. India A team for First Four Day game against New Zealand A: M Vijay, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Parthiv Patel (wk), K Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Md Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar,R Gurbani, Vijay Shankar,KS Bharath<doc-sep>INDIA TOUR OF AUSTRALIA 2018-19 Vijay, Rohit and Parthiv return; Hardik out of Australia Tests by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on Pandya, not fully fit yet, has been included in the India A squad for the one-dayers in New Zealand later this year. © Getty Hardik Pandya, having had to be stretchered off the field in the recently concluded Asia Cup, hasn't "fully recovered" and doesn't find a place in India's 18-man Test squad announced by BCCI for the 2018-19 Australia tour. Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma and Parthiv Patel mark their comebacks while Mayank Agarwal and Mohammed Siraj, both of whom earned maiden Test call-ups during the Windies series, have been left out. Squad for the 4-Test series vs Australia: Virat Kohli (C), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar "Hardik Pandya has not yet recovered and will at least sit out till November 15," India chief selector MSK Prasad said on Friday (October 26). "It's very difficult to match Hardik's all-round ability. At least we don't see that kind of ability now in India. That's why no other alternatives were discussed. And we expect Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar] to come good; we know he can bat." Pandya is a major blow, given how India intend to breed him into a bowling all-rounder so as to be able to play with four front-line bowlers. Although he has been included in the India A squad for the one-dayers in New Zealand later this year, the selectors have been cautious with Pandya, keeping in mind the World Cup that follows next year. His absence from Tests might open up a slot for Hanuma Vihari, who didn't feature in the two Tests against the Windies at home but can definitely bowl a bit of off-spin, as evidenced by three wickets he picked on debut. Rohit Sharma, too, might get his opportunity across the four Tests, but that would mean India playing only four bowlers - something ill-advised on flat tracks expected in Australia. Both Parthiv Patel and Rohit Sharma last featured for India during the South Africa tour earlier this year. In the middle of Wriddhiman Saha's never-ending injury layoff, Patel finds a place in the squad in the capacity of a back-up wicketkeeper, with incumbent Rishabh Pant set to be the showstopper with the gloves, whereas Sharma's returns from the 2014-15 tour of Australia, which saw him promoted to the No. 4 spot at the cost of Cheteshwar Pujara, seems to have worked in his favour. "With regard to Rohit, we felt that his nature of cricket - he's a very good backfoot player, and we felt that his game is much suited to play in Australia," Prasad said. "He [Parthiv] was not picked for the game against Afghanistan and also the England series, but subsequently he played the Duleep Trophy, he batted well and kept well. So, if you see the selection we've done for the whole team, it's a mixture of youth and experience, which we really wanted because it's going to be a high-intensity series, which is why we've fallen back on experience. The advantage of Parthiv is that he's a left-hander and can bat at any order. When the team demanded, even with a fractured hand he opened the innings in South Africa." Murali Vijay had an indifferent series against England and was dropped for the last two Tests on the tour - a period he put to good use playing for Essex, even hitting a century on his county debut. "Vijay had been dropped from England series," Prasad said. "He went back and played County, showed that intent and he performed. Considering the intensity of this series, we have considered him for the Australia series." Vijay scored 482 runs [1 hundred, 4 fifties] on India's last tour of Australia, being one of the kingpins of their impressive showing with the bat, but will likely be a standby opener. KL Rahul and Prithvi Shaw look set to continue at the top - a combination India nurtured during the Windies series, which saw Shikhar Dhawan dropped. Mayank Agarwal, who could have been the standby opener in Vijay's absence, continues to be the forever bridesmaid and will be part of the India A squad to New Zealand later in the year. The squad also finds Bhuvneshwar Kumar back in the fold, after last playing against South Africa in Johannesburg. The 28-year-old had to miss all five Tests in England owing to a lower back condition - something he had worsened by playing the third and final ODI in Headingley amidst much criticism. Bhuvneshwar has played just the one Test in Australia so far, when he had replaced Ishant Sharma for the Sydney Test during the 2014-15 tour and returned figures of 1-168. Barring injuries, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami look certain starters for Adelaide but Bhuvneshwar's batting abilities make him indispensable too. The pace attack make-up is going to be very interesting - a rare problem of plenty for India - especially in the backdrop of how Umesh Yadav seems to have bowled himself into contention with an impressive showing against the Windies at home too. Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma also return; the former coming off a Test cool-off and the latter from an injury following an arduous tour of England. The two shared a menacing new-ball partnership there, picking 18 wickets [5 Tests] and 14 wickets [3 Tests] respectively, and will look to resume the camaraderie with the Kookaburra ball down under. That takes India's bowling squad to its full strength, featuring Bumrah, Shami, Ishant, Bhuvneshwar and Umesh. Surprisingly, there are three spinners in the squad: Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. India will leave for Australia on November 16, four days after the culmination of the series against Windies, and will be playing one first-class warm-up game that starts on the November 28, after the three-match T20I series gets over. India lost the four-Test series 2-0 in 2014-15, but with two draws in Melbourne and Sydney to end the tour, and a more potent pace attack at their disposal - that's frequently been hailed as India's best ever - Virat Kohli and Co. look best equipped to exploit a vulnerable Australian side that will be without Steven Smith and David Warner. The first Test starts on December 6 in Adelaide. © Cricbuzz TAGS RELATED STORIES<doc-sep>
India have recalled Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay and Parthiv Patel for the four-Test series in Australia starting December. Vijay was dropped after the first three Tests in England but he kept himself in contention with strong scores in the English county circuit. There was a general sense of disbelief in the Indian cricket fraternity after Rohit was left out of the Indian Test squad despite a sensational run in the limited-overs formats this year which included the tour of England and Asia Cup. In the first ODI against the West Indies, Rohit slammed his 20th hundred and added 246 for the second wicket with Virat Kohli as India chased down 323. "Vijay went back and performed and considering the intensity of the series we have brought him. "With regards to Rohit, he is a good back-foot player and his game is much suited in Australia," said Prasad when asked about the inclusions. Parthiv, who last played Test cricket against England at home in 2016 has also been recalled into the side as the second wicketkeeper after Rishabh Pant. Dinesh Karthik, who was part of the squad in England, has been left out. "Parthiv was not picked for Afghanistan Test and subsequent England series. He played the Duleep Trophy and whatever matches that happened, he batted well. It's an intensive series (in Australia) and we have called him back," said the chairman of selectors regarding Parthiv's call-up. There were no other surprises in the squad. Hanuma Vihari, who also debuted in England, also finds a place in the Test team down under. Ravindra Jadeja, who has been in brilliant form since his return in England, has also been added to the Test squad for the tour of Australia. In fact, India have three spinners in the side - R Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav being the others. Young Prithvi Shaw, who scored a hundred on Test debut against the Windies, retained his place along with KL Rahul. Shikhar Dhawan continued to sit out of the Test side after being dropped for the two-match series against West Indies. The selectors also announced the squad for the first four-day game against New Zealand A and it features most of the top Indian players. As expected, the 'A' team includes Test regulars as the small tour is being seen as warm-up to the Test series for Australia, which starts in December. With little or no time left after the T20Is, it was the only way to give the players much needed red-ball practice ahead of the all-important series versus Australia. Ajinkya Rahane will lead the side that features the likes of Shaw, Vijay, Rohit, Vihari, and Parthiv Patel from the squad that will play Australia. Virat Kohli, who has been rested from the T20I series against the Windies next month, will lead India in the T20I and Test series in Australia. India squad for 4 Tests versus Australia: Virat Kohli (C), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. India 'A' squad for the first four-day game against New Zealand: M Vijay, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Parthiv Patel (WK), K Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Rajneesh Gurbani, Vijay Shankar, KS Bharath