Opener Murali Vijay was ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka due to a wrist injury and was subsequently 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,” the 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 in an accumulated 1464 runs.
He last played a Test for India in 2016 against New Zealand in a home series.
After the Test series, India are scheduled to play five one-dayers starting August 20 before signing off with a lone Twenty20 on September 6.
The Indian team for Sri Lanka is as follows:
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.
Feature image: BCCI