India have kept faith with the 16-man squad that cruised to victory in the one-off test against Bangladesh for the first two matches of the home series against Australia starting next week.
India have kept faith with the 16-man squad that cruised to victory in the one-off test against Bangladesh for the first two matches of the home series against Australia starting next week.
The world's top-ranked test side are unbeaten in their last 19 contests and completed a comprehensive 208-run win against their South Asian neighbours on Monday in an ideal warm-up for the four matches to come against Australia.
Fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who missed the last two tests of the recent five-match series against England with a leg injury, was not considered fit enough for selection to the side named on Tuesday.
Batsman Rohit Sharma, who injured his thigh during the one-day international series against New Zealand in October, only recently resumed training after undergoing surgery in England and was also deemed short of match fitness.
Uncapped left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav replaced injured leg-spinner Amit Mishra in the squad for the Bangladesh test and he retained his place for the first two tests against the second-ranked Australians.
Mishra hurt his knee while fielding during India's Twenty20 win over England in Bengaluru on Feb. 1.
Pune will make its debut as a test venue for the series-opener from February 23, before the sides move on to Bengaluru and two more new test venues in Ranchi and Dharamsala.
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