The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the squads for the upcoming tour of Australia for all three formats on Monday.
The notable absentee was Rohit Sharma, whose fitness is being monitored by the BCCI after the right-hander suffered a hamstring injury while playing for Mumbai Indians in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
In his absence, KL Rahul has been named as the team’s vice-captain in the white-ball formats.
However, it was the inclusion of Varun Chakravarthy that caught the eye of Twitter who hailed the spinner for making the journey from the Tamil Nadu Premier League to the Indian cricket team.
Here are some reactions to India’s squads for the upcoming Australia tour:
India's squads for Australia tour announced. No Rohit Sharma in all three squads, his fitness is being monitored. Kind of worrying.
— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) October 26, 2020
KL Rahul is new Indian ODI/T20I vice-captain in Rohit's absence. #AusvInd #IndvsAus pic.twitter.com/EInuQMMkHL
Really happy for Mayank to make it to the Indian T20i team. Siraj is in Tests. But a little worried about the fast-bowling resources in the absence of Ishant and Bhuvi. Deepak in T20. Thakur in ODI and Siraj in Tests. Workload for Bumrah-Shami-Saini might be a concern.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 26, 2020
Its only a foot in the door, but it speaks volumes about Natarajan, Nagarkoti, Porel and Tyagi that they are identified to go on tour. really pleased for them for diffrent reasons. https://t.co/UF8Hj27fSj
— Ian bishop (@irbishi) October 26, 2020
KL Rahul gets a leadership role as vice captain of the white ball squads in Rohit's absence...also back in the test squad
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) October 26, 2020
Injured @ImRo45 unlikely to figure in #IPL2020 for @mipaltan after Indian selectors decide to rest him from Australia tour. #INDvsAUS
— G. S. Vivek (@GSV1980) October 26, 2020
Kohli, Shami, Rahul, Jadeja feature in all three squads. Rohit will obviously too once he’s fit
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) October 26, 2020
I guess the fact that Rohit Sharma may not be fit enough to even play the tests in mid December would suggest he won't be part of the IPL anymore. His fitness is being monitored but with quarantine and travel restrictions, it seems unlikely. What a pity!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 26, 2020
Last five Tests for India...
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) October 26, 2020
Rohit Sharma: 6 inns, 556 runs, ave 92.67, 100s: 3 (HS 212)
Ishant Sharma: 109.2-28-330-19 (ave 17.37, S/r 34.53) 5wi: 2 (best 5/22)#IndvAus#AUSvIND
From @TNPremierLeague to @IPL to #TeamIndia in such short notice takes some talent ,congrats Varun Chakravarthy 👏🏼🙌🏼 #IPL2020 #KKRvKXIP
— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) October 26, 2020
Good to see Varun Chakravarthy getting picked for team india https://t.co/GqlP53fROB
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 26, 2020
Imagine the scene in the KKR dug out right now. Varun Chakravarthy earns an India shirt, with the news coming out mid-game.
— Snehal Pradhan (@SnehalPradhan) October 26, 2020
Super happy for Varun Chakravarthy for being picked in Indian T20 squad for upcoming Australia series 👏👏
— Haricharan Pudipeddi (@pudiharicharan) October 26, 2020
this remarkable story continues, varun chakravarthy rekindled his love affair with cricket after years and look where its taken him- all the way to the Indian squad! https://t.co/yEeeW8EUZ3
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) October 26, 2020
Big day for Varun Chakravarthy, named in India’s T20 squad. He will be #KKR’s best hope to beat #KXIP tonight
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) October 26, 2020
I am sitting in my room and I am clapping loudly for Varun Chakravarthy and Mohd Siraj. Love these feel good stories. #PlayingforIndia
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 26, 2020
Really, really feel for Suryakumar Yadav. To miss out on selection for T20Is after the kind of seasons he has had when Samson, Manish, Iyer make it is terrible. TERRIBLE. Such shit selection. #AUSvIND
— Rohit Sankar (@imRohit_SN) October 26, 2020
Pant didn’t play a single ODI or T20i on India’s tour to NZ. Only one in the squad to not feature in even a single game. And now, he doesn’t find a place in India’s white-ball teams for Aus. If anyone needed a good IPL, it was him. But it didn’t come....at least, not till now.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 26, 2020
Genuinely really sad about how Rishabh Pant has been treated by India. Constantly told to change; becomes less effective; dropped. https://t.co/UQc8jh29qJ
— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) October 26, 2020
And Manish Pandey picked over Rishabh Pant in white ball squads!!!
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) October 26, 2020
Samson over Pant in T20Is. 🎯 https://t.co/VtbaMW8hio
— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) October 26, 2020