India call up Kuldeep Yadav for forthcoming Tests against England

Spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been included in India's squad for the first three Tests against England, after a series of impressive performances in the shorter formats.

The left-arm wrist spinner claimed a five-wicket haul in the first T20I at Old Trafford and took 6-25 in India's eight-wicket ODI win in Nottingham last week.

He was not as successful subsequently as England fought back with wins at Lord's and Headingley but has done enough to force his way into contention for a third Test cap, having made his debut against Australia last year.

Batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been playing County Championship cricket for Yorkshire, is also included in the squad.

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But Bhuvneshwar Kumar aggravated a lower back injury during the third ODI against England and a decision on his participation will be made after his condition has been assessed by the India medical team.

His fellow seamer Jasprit Bumrah has been selected but will only be available from the second Test in Southampton.

India squad for first three Tests against England: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, M Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur.