Ind vs SL: BCCI announces 16 man team for first two Tests, Ajinkya Rahane named vice captain

The BCCI on Monday announced a 16 man squad which shall take on Sri Lanka in the first two of the three match Test series to be played in November. Ajinkya Rahane has been named as the vice captain for the Tests against the Islanders, said Amitabh Chaudhary, BCCI acting secretary.

Opener Murali Vijay made a comeback into the team at the expense of Tamil Nadu statemate Abhinav Mukund. India shall be taking on their sub continent rivals after finishing off the ongoing series against New Zealand. Spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja who were rested for the ODI series against Australia and New Zealand make way into the Test team.

The Sri Lanka series starts November 16 at Eden Gardens, followed by Tests in Nagpur from November 24 and Delhi from December 2. Sri Lanka will also play three ODIs and three T20Is during the tour that spans 37 days.

Veteran seamer Ishant Sharma'S comeback into the Indian team shall bolster the pace attack.

Squad for first two Tests: Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.