Dhoni rested for opening Test

MSDhoni

The tourists begin the four-match series in Brisbane on December 4, before further clashes in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney take them into the new year.

Dhoni will miss the opening clash at the Gabba, but is expected to return for the remainder of the series.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed on Monday that Virat Kohli will step in as captain in Dhoni's absence.

The 19-man squad for the Test series in Australia includes three uncapped players - batsman Lokesh Rahul, leg spinner Karn Sharma and wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha, while Suresh Raina returns to the Test fold for the first time in over two years.

Dhoni had previously chosen not to play in the first three matches of India's current one-day international series with Sri Lanka, and the injury to his right wrist rules him out of the final two clashes, with India having already taken an unassailable 3-0 lead.

Test squad: MS Dhoni (capt), Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Karn Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron.

Squad for last two ODIs: Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Akshar Patel, Karn Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Stuart Binny, Vinay Kumar, Kedar Jadhav.

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