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India names squad for Test series against Australia

Captain Virat Kohli will be a key player as India looks to extend its 19-match winning streak.

Captain Virat Kohli will be a key player as India looks to extend its 19-match winning streak.

India has named a 16-man squad with no surprises for the first two Tests of the four-match series against Australia that starts next week in Pune.

Fresh from a 208-run hammering of Bangladesh in the one-off Test in Hyderabad, captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday headlined the same squad from that clash that will be aiming to inflict more pain for Australia in the subcontinent.

Australia’s 3-0 Test series defeat to Sri Lanka in August was its third straight whitewash loss in Asia after a 2-0 defeat to Pakistan in the UAE in 2014 and a 4-0 drubbing in India a year earlier.

India, on the other hand, is on a 19-Test unbeaten streak.

That undefeated run is the best in Test cricket since Australia went 22 matches without a loss between September 2005 and January 2008.

In its past 20 Tests at home, India has recorded 17 wins and three draws.

India’s squad has been named for the first two Tests – the series opener in Pune starting next Thursday with the second Test in Bangalore from March 4.

Meanwhile Australia Test batsman Nic Maddinson has resumed training with New South Wales after taking a break from the game, but there is no time frame on his return to the field.

Maddinson last week took indefinite leave for personal reasons following a tough period in which he was dropped after three Tests and scored just 75 runs in seven Big Bash League (BBL) innings for Sydney Sixers.

India squad:

Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund, Hardik Pandya.

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