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'Bhuvneshwar Kumar just doesn’t want to play Test cricket anymore', reveal unnamed sources

India are set to play the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in Southampton in June which will be followed by a five-match Test series against the English team. 

The BCCI recently announced the squad for the tour and to everyone’s surprise, seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s name was missing. But according to a report in the Times of India, sources close to the right-arm bowler have said that Bhuvi is no longer interested in playing Test cricket anymore.

"Bhuvneshwar just doesn’t want to play Test cricket anymore. That drive has gone missing," they were quoted as saying. 

Kumar played his last Test match back in January 2018 against South Africa where he put up a man of the match performance against the visiting Proteas side picking up four wickets and scoring a total of 66 runs in a low scoring affair. 

Injuries have marred his game time ever since, which did not allow him to play all matches in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League and participate in India's tour Down Under. He made a good return against England in home conditions but just when he looked to getting back in top condition he got injured once again in the 14th edition of the IPL.

The TOI report has further quoted sources on the same, who revealed that Kumar prefers the white ball format at the moment.

“Those who have seen him from close insist he brought in a huge change in his work-drills a couple of seasons ago, doing away with heavy weight training, falling to the lure of the white-ball comfort and avoiding those hours of long spells that are so integral to red-ball cricket," TOI quoted. 

“To be honest, the selectors don’t even see Bhuvi hungry for 10 overs, forget Test cricket. It’s Team India’s loss no doubt, because if one bowler should have made it to England, it should have been him."

Kumar has played 21 Tests for India where he has picked 63 wickets for the team. 

India marched into the WTC final after series wins over Australia and England respectively. India first defeated Australia 2-1 away from home and then thumped England 3-1 on the home soil to register a place in the final. 

The side would be led by Virat Kohli while all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is also back in the team after recovering from injury. KL Rahul and Wriddhiman Saha’s selection is subject to fitness clearance. 

India’s squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance).

Standby players: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla



 

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Indian Women’s team for England tour: Sneh Rana, Indrani Roy rewarded; Shafali included in Tests and ODIs

Sneh Rana and Indrani Roy the top performers in the only domestic tournament for Indian Women’s cricketers during the tournament-the ODI Trophy have been rewarded with a place in the senior team for the England tour. Shafali Verma, the swashbuckling opener has been named in the ODI and Tests squad for the first time as well. Rajeshwari Gayakwad's is the only key name missing in the squad which otherwise retains its core. It is learned that Gayakwad had tested positive for Covid-19 last month. The All-India Senior Women's Selection Committee announced the squad for the one-off Test match, three ODI & five T20 matches which would be framed under three different series in three formats. The announcement was made on Friday, May 14, just a day after Ramesh Powar replaced WV Raman as the coach of the Indian Women’s team. Jharkhand’s Roy was the main reason for the state’s first-ever appearance in the final of the prestigious domestic tournament with her tournament-leading runs tally of 456 runs in eight matches at an outstanding average of 76 and with two hundred in her kitty. Rana, captaining Railways in Mithali Raj’s absence was phenomenal with both and ball, in fact, the off-spinner was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 18 scaps from eight games. She also scored 160 runs at a healthy average of 40. Fast bowler Shikha Pandey, who was left out of the India squad for the South Africa series has made a comeback to the squad in all formats as well. While Mithali has the reigns of Tests and ODIs, her deputy in those formats, Harmanpreet Kaur would wear the captain’s hat in the T20Is. The team is scheduled to reach England with the Men’s team on June 02, while the series starts with a one-off Test in Bristol from June 16. The team would then play the first ODI at the same venue on June 27 before moving to Taunton for the second game on June 30th. After finishing the final ODI in Worcester on July 03rd, the team would move northwards. The three T20Is are scheduled for July 09th, 11th and 15th at Northants, Hove and Chelmsford respectively. India’s Senior Women squad for Test & ODI: Mithali Raj (Captain), Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Punam Raut, Priya Punia, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Sneh Rana, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Indrani Roy (wicket-keeper), Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav. India’s Senior Women squad for T20I: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain) Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Indrani Roy (wicket-keeper), Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav, Simaran Dil Bahadur.