Pune, India

India made three changes to the playing XI for the second Test against New Zealand in Pune, including dropping underfire batter KL Rahul. A day after head coach Gautam Gambhir said the management would back Rahul in the Test side, India benched him alongside Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj. 

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India included fit-again Shubman Gill, who replaced Rahul, Washington Sundar for Kuldeep Yadav and Akash Deep for seamer Mohammed Siraj. Meanwhile, New Zealand, who won the toss and elected to bat first, also changed their line-up, bringing in spin-bowling all-rounder Mitchell Santner for injured Matt Henry.

Here are the playing XIs of both teams -

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah

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New Zealand: Tom Latham(c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel and William ORourke

Three changes for Pune Test

After losing the first Test in Bengaluru, the Indian Team asked for a rank-turner in the second in Pune in their quest to make a comeback in this series. Given the surface on offer, India was bound to play an extra spinner, and with Sundar’s inclusion to the squad right after the first match, it became evident that India would play him. 

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On the other hand, KL Rahul, who failed to deliver in Bengaluru, was dropped, despite Gambhir going public about management backing him in the Test side with the Border-Gavaskar series looming. The right-handed batter faced flak for his poor home run in this format, with the fans taking to social media asking for his exclusion from the playing XI.

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Answering all such queries surrounding Rahul’s Test future, Gautam Gambhir said, “You don't pick players on social media because of social media or for that matter even what the experts are saying. What the team management thinks and what the leadership group thinks is very, very important. Ultimately, everyone is judged.

“International cricket is all about being judged, to be honest, because everyone's performance will be judged eventually. But I feel that he [Rahul] is batting really well. 

“Obviously, he has had a decent knock in Kanpur [against Bangladesh] obviously, on a difficult wicket. And obviously, he played according to the plans as well. And I am sure, I think, he would also be knowing that he wants to score big runs, and he has that capability of scoring runs. That's why he has been backed by the team management,” Gambhir said in the pre-match presser.

Siraj was another high-profile player dropped from the XI for the ongoing game due to his dry run at home. Akash Deep, who impressed everyone in his brief Test career, replaced him in the XI.

As things stand, New Zealand are 32 for one, with Ravichandran Ashwin picking NZ captain Tom Latham trapped in front in his first over. 

(With inputs from agencies)