BCCI announces squads for Australia

India will play three T-20Is, three ODIs and four Test matches against Australia during their 69-day engagement from December 17. In the squads to be led by Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma has not been included. He is currently sitting out of Mumbai Indians’ games due to an injury. The BCCI said, they are continuing to monitor his and Ishant Sharma’s progress.
Four additional bowlers have been included in the first international outing of the Indian blue since the COVID-19 lockdown forced the home series against South Africa to be called off mid-way. They are Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kartik Tyagi, Ishan Porel and T. Natarajan. The Indian cricket team will get an additional Day/Night warm-up game in Sydney as a tune-up to the series-opening Pink Ball Test against Australia in Adelaide from December 17, the host board announced on Wednesday unveiling the full schedule of the 69-day engagement. The tour will include a 14-day quarantine-cum-training period in Sydney starting November 12 for the Indians who will fly in after the IPL final on November 10. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy will begin with a Day-Night encounter at the Adelaide Oval on December 17, followed by Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (December 26), the Sydney Cricket Ground (January 7) and the Gabba (January 15). As per BCCI’s demands, there is a week’s gap between the Boxing Day Test at the MCG and the New Year’s Test at the SCG.“India’s squad will arrive in Sydney on November 12 subject to Australian Border Force travel authorisation and the appropriate departure-approvals. The team will quarantine in Sydney prior to the first match of the series on November 27,” Cricket Australia stated. The Adelaide fixture will be the first Day-night Test played between the two teams. Neither side has lost a day-night Test previously, with the Australians winning all four twilight Tests in Adelaide against New Zealand, South Africa, England and Pakistan, and India winning its only encounter at Eden Gardens versus Bangladesh in 2019. Nick Hockley, CA’s Interim CEO, said that the Boxing Day Test might feature spectators at the MCG as the board is coordinating with the Victorian State Government on the issue.