Legspinner Amit Mishra returned to the 15-member Indian Test squad after four years with Harbhajan Singh also retaining his place in the team. Announcing the team for the Sri Lanka tour on Thursday, the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) have decided to go with three regular spinners for the tour.
The selection committee, which met in Delhi, retained a majority of the squad that toured Bangladesh for the one-off Test with the exception of injured Karn Sharma making way for Mishra.
Mishra has not played a Test since the 2011 tour of England, where he played two matches and took just three wickets. In the Ranji Trophy last season, Mishra took 10 wickets in the six matches at an average of 20.40 for his team Haryana.
Young Karnataka batsman KL Rahul, who missed the one-off Test in Bangladesh due to fever, has also been included in the team to be captained by Virat Kohli. The 23-year Karnataka opener scored a solid 96 for India A against Australia A side on the opening day of the First Class game at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.
Fast bowler Mohammed Shami was not picked because of an injury he suffered during the World Cup that also ruled him out of the Bangladesh and Zimbabwe ODI series.
Test squad: Virat Kohli (capt), M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Ishant Sharma
