Wriddhiman Saha. File photo: Getty ImagesNew Delhi: Tamil Nadu opening batsman Abhinav Mukund's consistency in domestic cricket was on Tuesday recognized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors, who picked him for the one-off Test against Bangladesh, starting February 9 in Hyderabad.
But despite guiding his state side Gujarat to their maiden Ranji Trophy win with a scintillating century, seasoned wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel was dropped to accommodate Bengal stumper Wriddhiman Saha.
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Saha, who announced his return to competitive cricket with his maiden first class double ton, recently helped Rest of India clinch the Irani Cup defeating Ranji champions Gujarat.
Also making a comeback to the 16-member squad after recovering from their respective injuries are Tamil Nadu's Murali Vijay, middle order mainstay Ajinkya Rahane and all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Jayant Yadav.
Vijay, who returned to competitive cricket after a month during Tamil Nadu's Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 match against Goa on Tuesday, had suffered a shoulder injury in the fifth and final Test against England.
The spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who were rested for the T20 series against England, were also recalled to the Test side.
The selectors also overlooked the non-performing Delhi opening duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Gautam Gambhir, who have been ineffective with the willow in the ongoing inter-state T20 tournament.
The selectors also named all-rounder Hardik Pandya to lead the India 'A' side for the three-day practice game against the visiting Australians from February 16 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
Earlier, the selection committee meeting was delayed after BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary was barred by the newly-appointed committee of administrators who instead asked board CEO Rahul Johri to convene the selection meet.
Indian team: Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Wriddihiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Abhinav Mukund and Hardik Pandya.
India ‘A' team for the three-day practice game against Australia: Hardik Pandya (capt), Akhil Herwadkar, Priyank Kirit Panchal, Shreyas Iyer, Ankit Bawne, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shahbaz Nadeem, Krishnappa Gowtham, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Ashok Dinda, Mohammed Siraj, Rahul Singh and Baba Indrajith.
