The All-India Senior Selection Committee has released India fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat from the senior men's squad for the second Test match of the Border-Gavakaskar Trophy beginning on February 17 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The decision has been taken in consultation with the Indian team management.
Having previously led Saurashtra to a Ranji trophy title, the left-arm speedster will be back with the squad for the final against Bengal set to be played from February 16 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. While Bengal ended Madhya Pradesh hopes of successfully defending their Ranji Trophy title by beating them by 306 runs in the semis, Saurashtra overcome the Karnataka challenge, handing them a defear by 4 wickets in the other semifinal.
Spinners To Play A Lead Role In IND vs AUS Border-Gavaskar Series
With the spinners being in focus fo much of the series, it wouldn't have been too difficult a call to make for the team management especially after Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin scalped 15 of the 20 Australian wickets to fall in the Nagpur Test and Axar Patel also chipping in with a wicket in the second innings to take the spinner's overall tally to 16. Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj will remain the fronline pace bowling options for the Rohit Sharma-led team but are expected to be needed sparingly.
It is for this reason itself, a media report claims, that Jasprit Bumrah may not be rushed into the team. Given that spinners will have the lead role to play, Bumrah could be given more time to recover from his injury knowing that it is a World Cup year where the Men in Blue would want to have their best players fit and raring to go.
However, there is still no clarity on whether Bumrah will be available for the ODI series following the conclusion of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.