Injured Rohit Sharma out of Test series vs England, Gautam Gambhir retained for first two Tests

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today announced the Test squad for the five-match series against England, starting November 9. Rohit Sharma, who had injured himself during India's final ODI against New Zealand in Vizag on Saturday, has been ruled out of the entire series against England. The stylish Mumbai batsman, who had made three fifties in the Test series against New Zealand, may need surgery. The selectors also left out Shikhar Dhawan and Lokesh Rahul, who were injured during the series against the Black Caps and retained Gautam Gambhir, who smashed a fifty in the final Test match in Indore. Meanwhile, pace spearhead Ishant Sharma was recalled to the team and all-rounder Hardik Pandya got his maiden Test call-up. Pandya made his ODI debut against New Zealand last month and made an immediate impact, winning the man-of-the-match award in Dharamsala. The meeting, which was held in Mumbai, was attended by five national selectors, board secretary Ajay Shirke and physio Patrick Farhart while, Test captain Virat Kohli joined through video conferencing. Chief selector MSK Prasad said Pandya currently is a better all-round option than Stuart Binny, who has been tried and tested at the international level. It was also revealed that Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, who took a five-wicket haul at the Eden Gardens Test, is yet to recover full fitness. India, currently ranked No.1 in the ICC Test rankings, had blanked New Zealand 3-0 in the recently concluded series, but they had to do so without the services of Rahul, Ishant and Dhawan who were injured and indisposed at different times. Indian team for first 2 Tests vs England: Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Karun Nair