Avesh Khan Added To India's Test Squad As Replacement Of Mohammed Shami After Loss To South Africa In 1st Test

Avesh Khan was added to India's Test squad which is in South Africa to play the two-match series. He comes in as replacement for Mohammed Shami, who had been ruled out weeks ago due to an ankle injury. Avesh's selection comes on back of good show in the India A matches in South Africa. Avesh is in the Rainbow Nation as part of the A squad but will change dressing rooms.

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Avesh's addition to the squad will boost India's fast bowling attack. The pacers on this tour include Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna. Avesh is the sixth pacer added for the Test tour, which means India are looking to bounce out South Africa in the 2nd Test. 

The Rohit Sharma-led side lost the first Test by a huge margin, facing an innings defeat. The team looked listless and rusty in Centurion. Except for Bumrah, who picked four wickets in the first innings. Krishna and Thakur were very expensive as Mohammed Siraj was good only in patches. Head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit seems to have taken the decision to call Avesh into Test squad with a view to form a potent pace attack for the 2nd Test that starts on January 3. 

It will be interesting to see whether Avesh places in the 2nd Test or not. Adding him to the squad for the last Test means that the management wants him in the XI straightaway. Avesh picked four wickets recently in the India A vs South Africa A four-day match. He has been a consistent wicket-taker for Madhya Pradesh in Ranji Trophy, India's elite red-ball domestic tournament. His tall height and pace can help him bamboozle the South African batters.  

India’s squad for 2nd Test: India’s squad for Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna, KS Bharat (wk), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Avesh Khan