Avesh Khan
Avesh Khan Credits: Twitter

Fast-bowler Avesh Khan has been released from the India squad for the ongoing first Test between India and England at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad.

The right-arm pacer failed to find a spot in the playing eleven as India picked two frontline pacers and three spinners in the playing eleven for the series-opener. While Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are the pacers in the team, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja are the spinners.

Avesh Khan had earned his maiden Test call-up last month when he was added to the squad for the second Test against South Africa as Mohammed Shami’s injury replacement. However, he could not find a place in the playing eleven. The selectors decided to retain him in the Test squad for the first two games of the ongoing series as well but the team-management decided against handing him a maiden Test cap.

Avesh Khan released:

With Avesh Khan failing to find a spot in the playing XI, the BCCI announced that the pacer has been released to ply his trade in the ongoing Ranji Trophy. He will be playing for Madhya Pradesh in their next game which is against Puducherry and will start on Friday (January 26).

Avesh has already represented India in both the white-ball formats but is yet to play a Test. He has played 8 ODIs and 20 T20Is so far and has picked up a total of 28 wickets. In red-ball cricket, he has played 39 first-class games and has taken an impressive 154 wickets.

Meanwhile, Rajat Patidar has replaced Virat Kohli in the India squad for the first two Tests. Kohli has withdrawn from both the games, citing personal reasons.

India squad for first Test:

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC)