Dhruv Jurel new face in India squad for first two Tests against Eng; Shami continues to be absent
New Delhi, Jan 12: The selectors on Friday stuck to the tried and tested names while announcing the India team for the first two Tests against England with wicketkeeper batsman Dhruv Jurel being the lone new face.
Rohit Sharma will lead the 16-man side while Jasprit Bumrah will be his deputy.
Senior pacer Mohammed Shami was not named in the squad as he is continuing his recovery process from an injury that he suffered during the ODI World Cup last year.
Shami was also not a part of the India squad that toured South Africa recently.
Karnataka pacer Prasidh Krishna was also not considered as he also picked up a left quadricep injury during the Ranji Trophy match against Gujarat on this day.
Pace bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur also missed out but left-arm spinner Axar Patel made an expected comeback to the side.
However, the inclusion of Uttar Pradesh player Jurel headlined the selection.
The 22-year-old was a part of India A squad that played two matches against their South African counterparts in December last year.
He had made a 69 in the second match at Benoni and more recently made a 63 for UP against Kerala in a first round group game of the Ranji Trophy at Alappuzha.
Jurel, who had made his First-Class debut last year against Vidarbha, has so far made 790 runs from 15 matches at an average of 46 with a hundred and five fifties in the domestic circuit.
However, KS Bharat could be the first-choice wicketkeeper batter and the selectors have also named KL Rahul for the role.
Rahul had donned the big gloves in the two Test matches against South Africa with a fair amount of success.
But it is unlikely that the Bengaluru-man could continue in the role against England as India are certain to field three spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar, a move that warrants a specialist behind the stumps.
The first Test will be played at Hyderabad from January 25 and the second match will be held at Visakhapatnam from February 2.
India Test squad for the first two Tests against England: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Avesh Khan.
An action-packed Test series coming 🆙
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 12, 2024
Check out #TeamIndia's squad for the first two Tests against England 👌👌#INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/vaP4JmVsGP
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KCOCA invoked against two accused in land dispute murder case
Udupi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Police have invoked provisions of the stringent KCOCA against two people in connection with a series of violent crimes, including murder, arising out of a prolonged land dispute in this district, officials said on Monday.
According to police, section 3 of the KCOCA was invoked after an assessment revealed the accused persons' - gangster Kali Yogish and alleged land shark Yogish Acharya- alleged involvement in multiple serious offences over a sustained period.
Accused Yogish has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody by a special KCOCA court in Mysuru, while gangster Kali, who is absconding, is believed to be residing abroad.
The case dates back to December 2022, when Kaup police registered an assault case against the accused duo and their associates for allegedly attacking a person identified as Chandrashekhar and others following a dispute over land ownership.
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The conflict escalated in March 2023 with the murder of a person identified as Sharath Shetty. Police said Shetty was allegedly killed for refusing to support Yogish and for assisting Chandrashekar in the land dispute.
A murder case was registered at Kaup police station, with Chandrashekar cited as a key witness in both cases.
Police further stated that on October 20, 2025, Chandrashekar received a threat at around 8.15 pm, warning him against deposing in court. He was allegedly asked to resolve a financial dispute with Yogish Acharya and threatened with death if he failed to comply.
Based on his complaint, a case was registered under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The investigation was supervised by Assistant Superintendent of Police, Karkala subdivision, Harsha Priyamvada.
Accused Yogish Acharya was initially arrested on October 24, 2025, and later released on bail. He was subsequently re-arrested after the invocation of KCOCA and remanded to judicial custody, police said.
