NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced the squad, led by
Rohit Sharma
, for the remaining three Tests of the five-match series against England. However, star batsman
Virat Kohli
will continue to be absent from the remainder of the series due to personal reasons.
Rohit and his men lost the opening Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs and went on to win the second Test in Vizag by 106 runs.
The five-match Test series is finely poised at 1-1, with the third Test to be held in Rajkot, starting on February 15.
Both India and England will then travel to Ranchi for the fourth Test beginning on February 23, followed by the final game of the series in Dharamsala on March 7.
A day before the squad announcement, Rohit took to Instagram and posted a photo with his wife
Ritika Sajdeh
, captioning it, "Always by my side."
"Always by my side," Rohit wrote while sharing the photo.
Rohit recently opened up about leading the side and the leadership role he plays for the national team.
The Indian skipper said he cherishes the role's numerous facets, including making strategic judgments on the field and managing individual players' personalities off the field.
"It is probably the hardest job of the leader to get everyone to do what you want them to do. Because they come with a different mindset and they want to do what they want to do. That's what we try and talk to everyone when they come in because it's a team game and sport. What I try and do is give the players that freedom and importance..... that they are very important for me. It does not matter if you only play only ten balls at No.6 aur No.7 ...you are so important to me that you can win games. It's just building the confidence within themselves. Because you need all 11 of them to give their best. You need everyone to contribute to the team's cause," Rohit said during an event.
Rohit stated that he tries his best to have personal interactions with each player, and as a leader, it is necessary to treat everyone equally and with significance.
"I try and go to players' rooms individually and talk to them, have dinner. They look up to the leaders. If I am not available to talk and give time to them then there will be some discomfort around the team. The most important thing is to try and treat everyone equally and give everyone that importance. Give them role clarity that what is their role," the Indian skipper said.
"If they are having any thoughts about getting dropped that's where my role comes in. Then I have to try and build the confidence. It's about giving them that confidence and building that trust that no matter what my leader says I have to go and execute that. Those are the things that I try to focus on. It's a tough job," he added.
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