India vs Australia: Ishan Kishan receives maiden Test call-up as BCCI announces squad for first 2 Tests

Ishan Kishan received a maiden Test call-up as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India's squad on Friday for the first two Tests against Australia.

India and Australia are set to compete in the Border Gavaskar 2023 series next month, with the first Test beginning on Feb. 9 in Nagpur. The remaining three Tests of the series will be played in Delhi (Feb.17-21), Dharamsala (March 1-5), and Ahmedabad (March 9-13).

Kishan has come into the side with first-choice wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant in recovery after a car accident. Kishan made his First-Class debut with Jharkhand in 2014 and so far has made 48 appearances in the format, scoring 2,985 runs at an average of 38.76, including six centuries and 16 fifties.

Suryakumar Yadav, who has established himself as a key member of the T20I side, has also received a Test call-up for the first two Tests against Australia. The Mumbai batter has been playing First-Class cricket since 2010. He has scored 5,549 runs in 79 games at an average of 44.75, including 14 centuries and 28 fifties.

Meanwhile, India will be without their ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah for the Tests in Nagpur and Delhi. A few weeks ago, Bumrah looked like he had recovered from his back injury that had kept him out of action since September 2022. But in the bid to get himself up for the usual workload again, he felt stiffness in his right glute and has now been advised at least another month's rehabilitation.

Ravindra Jadeja has returned to the Indian side but the all-rounder's inclusion in the squad is subject to fitness, according to BCCI's press release.

The left-arm spinner is coming off a long-term injury lay-off. The bowling allrounder, if fit, could play a huge role in a home series that India need to win 3-1 or better to be assured of a place in the World Test Championship final.

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Jadeja has not played any cricket since August 2022. He was originally due to return during the tour of Bangladesh late last year, but it was later revealed that he needed more time to recover from a knee surgery done in September.

India captain Rohit Sharma, vice-captain KL Rahul, No. 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, and No. 4 Virat Kohli are expected to secure the top four spots. Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer should be given a No. 5 or 6 slot, given his recent form – he averaged 101 in India's recent tour of Bangladesh in December 2022 where the tourists won 2-0.

Should either Kishan or Surya make it to India's XI, the team's batting pace could go up as both have strike rates of over 60 in First-Class cricket. However, it remains to see if they'll get a game against Australia. Moreover, for the wicketkeeper's role, India would have to make a choice between Kishan and KS Bharat, who has long been an understudy to Pant.

India won the previous Border Gavaskar series, which took place Down Under in 2021-22.

India's Test squad for the first two Tests against Australia: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.