Raina Back in Test Format

KL Rahul, Karn Sharma included for Australian series, Raina back in Test format

The Indian selectors have announced the 19 players squad for the upcoming four match Test series in Australia. The regular faces are part of the team while the selectors have given few surprises as well. MS Dhoni, the Indian captain, will miss the first Test match because of wrist injury and his deputy Virat Kohli will lead India for the first time in the Test matches.

Picked on recent form

KL Rahul

He has been picked in the squad as the reserve opener. This Karnataka lad scored more than 1000 runs in the last edition of the Ranji Trophy while his twin centuries in each innings of the Duleep Trophy final against the Central Zone had further enhanced his image in front of the selectors. He can play drives, cuts, pulls and other shots with ease and is a complete package. If Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay are unable to score runs in the first two Test matches, Rahul could get a chance to demonstrate his talent.

Karn Sharma

He has already played for India in the shortest format of the game but Test matches are a different beast . The Railways bound spinner possesses a good googly and has taken  66 wickets in 34 first class games at an average of 28.87.  The best part about him is that he is handy with the bat and can contribute at the end of the inning. He has accumulated more than 1000 runs with the help of one century and seven fifties in the first class career so far. He is now on the brink of receiving his Test cap.

   

Suresh Raina

He played his last Test against New Zealand in 2012 and was axed on account of poor form. However, he has improved considerably since then. After working with the former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, Suresh Raina has been scoring briskly in international cricket. He superb form in England and then against West Indies and Sri Lanka in India has forced selectors to include him in the squad.  The left hand batsman has improved considerably when it comes to handling of a short ball from fierce fast bowlers. I know he won't be a part of the playing XI initially but if someone fails to score in the middle order in one or two Tests, things could become positive for Raina.

Big test for senior pros

Batting

The well established Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay will have to play an important role at the opening slot as they have failed big time as partners outside the sub-continent. The same could be said about Cheteshwar  Pujara, Virat Kohli , Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, who have failed to deliver when needed. Murali Vijay and MS Dhoni were in some sort of form in the last Test series against England but more is required from these two.

Bowling

This is the most worrying area for MS Dhoni. The fast bowlers have struggled while spinners haven't bowl right line and length outside their home territory. Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma have bowled well but only in patches. The inclusion of Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron could be beneficial for the team.  Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin are poor travelers and this could open gate for new entry Karn Sharma.

Test squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), ViratKohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, K L Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha, Karn Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron.