Opener Murali Vijay was on July 17 ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka due to a wrist injury. He is replaced by Shikhar Dhawan in the 16-member squad for the three-match rubber, starting July 26.
“The All India Senior Selection Committee on Monday named Shikhar Dhawan as the replacement for injured Murali Vijay in the Test team, which is scheduled to travel to Sri Lanka for a three-match Test series,” Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Amitabh Chaudhary said in a release.
“Vijay, who had suffered a wrist injury during Australia’s tour of India, has complained of pain in his right wrist, while playing a preparatory match. The BCCI medical team has, therefore, advised that Vijay should continue his rehabilitation program,” he added.
Dhawan, who is a regular in the Indian ODI side, has played 23 Tests and averages 38.52. He has four hundreds to his credit, and has amassed1464 runs during the course of his Test career.
He last played a Test in 2016 against New Zealand in a home series.
After the Sri Lanka Test series, India are scheduled to play five one-dayers starting August 20, before signing off with a lone Twenty20 on September 6.
Following is the Indian team for Sri Lanka:
Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice captain), Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund.
