The Indian squad for the first two out of five Test matches against England was announced on Wednesday. All-rounder Hardik Pandya was given his maiden Test call-up, while opener Gautam Gambhir also retained his spot in the squad. With Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul ruled out owing to injuries, Gambhir is almost certain to play in Rajkot on November 9.
Batsman Karun Nair has also been included in the Test squad in place of Sharma, who was injured during the ODI series against New Zealand. Pacer Ishant Sharma, who missed the New Zealand series after being diagnosed with chikungunya, also made a return to the squad.
India and England will play the first Test of the series on November 9 in Rajkot. The teams are scheduled to play four more matches in Visakhapatnam, Mohali, Mumbai and Chennai.
India squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Mohammad Shami, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Karun Nair, M Vijay, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav.
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