India Announce 18-Member Squad for Australia Test Series

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced an 18-member squad for the upcoming five-match Test series against Australia, commencing on November 22 in Perth. The squad features several notable inclusions and exclusions.

Inclusions:

* Abhimanyu Easwaran: The Bengal opener has been rewarded for his consistent performances in domestic cricket, becoming the third-choice opener behind Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

* Harshit Rana: The seamer has enjoyed an impressive year, starring in an IPL title and earning a Test call-up after being selected in the white-ball squads.

* Nitish Rana: The Andhra Pradesh all-rounder has impressed in the T20 league and made his T20I debut against Bangladesh this month.

Exclusions:

* Mohammed Shami: The match-changing seamer has been ruled out due to a knee swelling, despite working tirelessly to recover from ankle surgery.

* Kuldeep Yadav: The left-arm spinner has been referred to the BCCI Centre of Excellence to address his chronic left groin issue.

Other Notable Selections:

* Washington Sundar: The spin-bowling all-rounder has been included after taking seven wickets in the first innings against New Zealand in the ongoing second Test in Pune.

* Prasidh Krishna: The Karnataka seamer returns to the Test squad after debuting in South Africa and impressing in India A's Duleep Trophy title win.

Reserves:

* Mukesh Kumar

* Navdeep Saini

* Khaleel Ahmed

The Indian squad will travel with a well-stocked pace attack, led by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Akash Deep has maintained his spot after impressive performances against England and Bangladesh.

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