Rohit Sharma officially named Test captain, Rahane, Pujara dropped from Test series against SL
New Delhi, Feb 19: White-ball skipper Rohit Sharma was on Saturday officially named captain of the Indian Test team for the upcoming two-match series against Sri Lanka, starting March 4.
Senior batsmen Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, who are battling poor form, were dropped.
Senior wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha and experienced pacer Ishant Sharma were also left out of the Tests as the All India senior selection committee named squads for the Sri Lanka series.
Sri Lanka's tour will begin with a three-match T20 series starting February 24 and will be followed by the five-day matches from March 4.
Rookie Uttar Pradesh left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar was the only new face in the 18-member squad.
Ahead of the T20 series, the selection committee, headed by Chetan Sharma, decided to give Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant a break, while Shardul Thakur was rested for the entire Sri Lanka series.
Meanwhile, Washington Sudar and KL Rahul were ruled out of the entire series.
Ravichandran Ashwin will be available subject to his fitness, while Axar Patel is still recovering and is expected to be fit for the second Test.
"The selection committee deliberated a lot on Rahane and Pujara. We told them we will not consider them against Sri Lanka but doors are open for them. We told them to go and play Ranji Trophy," Selection Committee chairman Chetan Sharma told reporters during a virtual press conference.
India Test squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat, R Ashwin (fitness), Ravi Jadeja, Jayant Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Saurabh Kumar.
India T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Bhuveshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Mohammad Siraj, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan.
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Train to Kashmir: 22-bogie train's trial run successful on Katra-Srinagar line
Jammu: A 22-bogie train chugged between Katra and Srinagar railway stations on Sunday, officials said, marking the first successful trial run on the newly completed line to connect Kashmir with the rest of the country via rail.
The train, comprising 18 AC coaches, two luggage carriers and two engines, left the Katra railway station at around 8 am, successfully reaching its destination within four hours under the watchful eyes of the railway authorities, the officials said.
This was the first trial run between Katra and Srinagar, and came within six days after the Commissioner of Railway Safety (Northern Circle) Dinesh Chand Deshwal authorised the opening of the newly constructed Broad Gauge line.
He had given the authorisation for the start of public carriage of goods and passenger traffic in a seven-page letter to the ministry and railway authorities, based on his detailed inspection of the track on January 7 and 8.
The CRS referred to his inspection of the newly constructed BG line between the Katra and Reasi section by a motor trolley and on foot, followed by a speed trial on the entire section from Katra to Banihal.
He had then authorised regular opening of the section for passengers and freight traffic at a maximum permissible speed of 85 Kmph on the main line and 15 Kmph on turnout.
The work on the dream project to link Kashmir by train was started in 1997 and it missed several deadlines given geological, topographical and meteorological challenges.
Out of the total 272 km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, 209 km was commissioned in phases with the first phase of the 118 km Qazigund-Baramulla section commissioned in October 2009, followed by 18 km Banihal-Qazigund in June 2013, 25 km Udhampur-Katra in July 2014 and 48.1 km long Banihal-Sangaldan stretch in February, last year.
The work on the 46-km Sangaldan-Reasi section was also completed in June last year, leaving a total of 17 km stretch between Reasi and Katra. And this section was finally completed in December 2024 as announced by the Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
On January 4, a successful trial run of an electric train was successfully conducted on the Katra-Banihal section. The railways has conducted six trials over the past month on various segments of the track, including the two major milestones of the Anji Khad and Chenab bridges.
Katra-Srinagar Rail Link: First 18-Coach Train Completes Trial Run Successfully pic.twitter.com/p68axcUClX
— Daily Excelsior (@DailyExcelsior1) January 19, 2025
