Rahul, Agarwal miss out as India announce 15-man squad for WTC final

Top-order batsmen KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal and spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar were the major omissions as India announced their 15-man squad for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand beginning on Friday at Southampton.

Senior pacer Umesh Yadav was included in the final squad while Shardul Thakur was left out alongside Axar Patel, who made his debut against England. Mohammed Shami and Hanuma Vihari, who were injured during the series Down Under, also returned to the squad. Shami is the fifth pacer along with Mohammad Siraj, Umesh, Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma.

Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja kept their places as the team management will be presented with the question of picking either of them for the final XI.

India: Virat Kohli (captain) Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Umesh Yadav, Hanuma Vihari.