3 Surprising inclusions in India's Test squad for Sri Lanka series

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named the squad for the upcoming two-match home Test series against Sri Lanka starting March 4. The senior players including the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ishant Sharma, and Wriddhiman Saha have been excluded from the setup and notable inclusions have been made with an eye on the future in red-ball cricket. Rohit Sharma has been appointed as captain and he would thus be leading the Indian team across formats.

While the selectors have decided to drop the experienced Test specialists for the upcoming series, they have also made some surprise inclusions. Apart from selecting two new players, they have shown faith in one player who has been in and out of the team for the last couple of years. So without further ado, here’s a look at three of those players.

Three surprise picks in the Indian squad for the Sri Lanka Test series

1. KS Bharat

KS Bharat is yet to represent India at the highest level. He has been in the reserves for more than two years but is yet to receive an India cap. However, the Karnataka cricketer did get to don the gloves a few months ago for a while and was a makeshift wicketkeeper for an injured Wriddhiman Saha during the first Test against New Zealand in Indore. The 28-year-old made the most of his opportunities with two catches and effecting a stumping of skipper Tom Latham.

The upcoming Sri Lanka series would be a great chance for Kona Srikar Bharat to prove his mettle at the highest level should he make the cut in the playing XI after years of hard work in domestic cricket where he averages 37.24 in first-class cricket. Bharat had featured in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore last season and has now been bought by Delhi Capitals for INR 2 crore at the IPL 2022 mega auction.

Therefore, it will not be wrong to say that the promising gloveman from Karnataka who leads the Andhra cricket team is well on his way to being India’s second-choice stumper in red-ball cricket after Saha’s axing.