Mohammed Shami has not been picked in the squad for the first two Tests against England. The five-match series begins in Hyderabad on January 25.

Shami had hoped to make a return at the start of the series, but it is understood that the national selectors didn’t risk him on the advice of the medical team at the National Cricket Academy. The fast bowler hasn’t bowled since the ODI World Cup final on November 19 and is nursing an ankle injury.

It is also expected that the pacers won’t have a huge role to play in the home series which will be dominated by the spinners.

Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan have been included while Prasidh Krishna, who played the two Tests in South Africa, was not considered after he picked up an injury in a Ranji Trophy match on Friday.

Prasidh suffered a left quadriceps injury during Karnataka’s match against Gujarat and left the field after bowling 14.5 overs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel are back in the squad. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are certainties in the playing XI while Kuldeep could be the third tweaker considering England batters’ weakness against wrist spin.

Dhruv Jurel, Uttar Pradesh’s wicketkeeper-batter, is the lone uncapped player in the 16-member squad. The 22-year-old joins KL Rahul, who kept wickets in South Africa, and KS Bharat as the third keeper in the side.

However, there’s no sign of Ishan Kishan yet. Head coach Rahul Dravid recently said that Kishan “will play domestic cricket and make himself available for selection” when he feels ready. He had returned home from South Africa after requesting the team management for a break.

Jurel made his IPL debut last season and was picked for the Emerging Teams’ Asia Cup. He played the second unofficial Test for India A in South Africa. He is part of the team that will take on the England Lions.