India vs England: Rishabh Pant gets maiden Test cap

Indian batsman Rishabh Pant has earned his maiden Test cap as Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced an 18-member squad for first three matches of the upcoming five-match Test Series against England.

The 20-year old had driven India A team home by scoring a smashing half-century against West Indies A in an unofficial Test match, last week.

While opener Rohit Sharma, who has smashed two centuries in the tour so far, did not get picked up for the Test team, fast bowler Mohammed Shami and batsman Karun Nair successfully booked their spot in the squad.

Jasprit Bumrah, who was ruled out of the ODI series due to a thumb injury, will be available from the second test onwards based on his fitness.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar who "aggravated a lower back condition" in the 3rd ODI against England is being assessed by the BCCI medical team and a call on his inclusion in the Test squad will be made soon.

In the spin bowling department, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadega were the expected picks like that of Kuldeep Yadav who gave an impressive performance in the three-match T20 series against England.

Following is the list of India squad selected for the first three Tests:

Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, M Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Karun Nair, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur.

India are slated to play five-match Test series against England beginning August 1.