Mumbai, Sep 29 : Karnataka opener Mayank Agarwal and right-arm pacer Mohammed Siraj, who plays for Hyderabad in first-class cricket, are the new faces in 14-member Indian squad for the forthcoming two-Test home series against West Indies that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Saturday.
Meanwhile, pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been rested for the series, while opener Shikhar Dhawan has been dropped.
"Taking stock of the recent workload, the selectors have decided to rest Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar," the BCCI said in a statement.
"Both Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya were not considered for selection as they are yet to recover from their injuries," it added.
The first Test will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot between October 4-9 followed by the second one at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad from October 12.
The squad:
Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur
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Kochi (PTI): The Kerala High Court on Tuesday declined to issue any interim order putting on hold the screening of Malayalam film 'L2: Empuraan' starring superstar Mohanlal.
Justice C S Dias ordered to issue notice to the Centre and the Censor Board seeking their stand on the plea by Thrissur-native V V Vijeesh who has claimed that continuing to show the movie poses a risk of inciting communal violence and disturbing public order.
It listed the matter for hearing after the vacation.
The court also questioned whether the petition was filed in publicity interest by the petitioner.
During the brief hearing of the matter, the court also asked what was the problem when the Censor Board had certified the film for public viewing.
It also expressed doubts about the petitioner's intention behind filing the plea.
It also pointed out that no case was filed anywhere against the movie.
The state government said that no case has been lodged against the film in Kerala.
Meanwhile, Antony Perumbavoor, one of the producers of the film, earlier in the day announced that the movie has undergone cuts to remove scenes of little over two minutes.
He said the decision to carry out the edit was a joint one of all the producers and actors, including Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran, and it was not out of fear of anyone.
The movie has faced intense criticism from the Sangh Parivar with regard to some portions of the film.
'L2: Empuraan', the second part of the 'Lucifer' movie, a trilogy planned by the Prithviraj-Mohanlal team, has become a topic of hot debate over its critique of right-wing politics and the covert mention of the Gujarat riots.
On March 27, the day of the movie's release, the Sangh Parivar vehemently criticised the film on social media, while the Congress and Left platforms celebrated the film for portraying the right-wing politics as "villainous".