2016-17 England Tour of India - Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)announces 15-member India Squad for 2 Tests against England Wednesday Nov 02,2016

The All-India senior selection committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday Nov 02,2016 announced the 15-member squad for the first two Test matches against England.

With KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan yet to recover from their respective injuries, senior opening batsman Gautam Gambhir has been retained in the squad. Gambhir played the third Test match against New Zealand, where he scored a half-century.

Chief of selectors MSK Prasad said that "Gambhir should be given a fair amount of opportunities and he would have been considered even if the regular openers were fit."

The big surprise though was the maiden Test call-up for all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Talking about Pandya's inclusion, chief of selectors MSK Prasad said that Pandya is "one of the top all-rounders available in the country currently."

"After the Australia A series you can see that his pace has increased and he can move the ball well. His batsmanship has also improved. He is one all-rounder who is competent as a batsman, bowler and a fielder," Prasad told the media gathered at the BCCI office in Mumbai.

Rohit Sharma does not feature in the squad for the first two Test matches as he is out injured. The injury was sustained in his thigh muscle during the ODI series against New Zealand.

The selectors have gone in with four specialist spinners in R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra and Jayant Yadav. Yadav, who recently made his ODI debut against New Zealand in the 5th and final ODI in Vizag, has been included as a back-up option.

As expected senior speedster Ishant Sharma makes a comeback into the Test squad having missed the series against New Zealand due to Chikungunya. Along with Ishant, the pace duties will be handled by the duo of Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar doesn't find a place in the squad as the selectors felt that he needs to perform at the Ranji level after returning from the injury sustained during the New Zealand series, to be considered for the national team again.

Middle-order batsman Karun Nair too is part of the team although an inclusion in the playing XI looks difficult for the talented batsman.

India Squad for 2 Test Matches against England

Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Ishant Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Gautam Gambhir, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha, Karun Nair, M Vijay, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya

England have named an unchanged Test squad for their tour of India.

All-time leading wicket-taker James Anderson will miss the first Test in Rajkot starting on 9 November and is a doubt for the second in Visakhapatnam.

That means Jake Ball remains with the squad after being added to the party for the current tour of Bangladesh.

England squad: Alastair Cook (capt), Moeen Ali, Zafar Ansari, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Gareth Batty, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Duckett, Steven Finn, Haseeb Hameed, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes.

England's winter Test team. Top row (l-r): Ben Duckett, Gareth Batty, Chris Woakes, Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Haseeb Hameed, Zafar Ansari and Adil Rashid. Bottom row: Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Alastair Cook, Stuart Broad, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes