IND vs NZ: Gurnoor Brar added to Test squad as selectors release Kuldeep Yadav

India have made a last-minute change to their Test squad for the two-match series against New Zealand starting next week in Wellington. The visitors have added seamer Gurnoor Brar to the side, while releasing left-arm unorthodox spinner Kuldeep Yadav to play domestic cricket back home. The lanky quick Brar, who leads the wickets chart for India in the ongoing ODI series, will link up with the remainder of the Test squad in Wellington and, as a result, will miss the fifth and final ODI on Sunday at Bay Oval.

In other news, ace keeper-batter Rishabh Pant has also joined the Test squad in Wellington after clearing his mandatory fitness test at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.

Check India’s Updated Squad for NZ Tests –

Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj and Gurnoor Brar

India’s Updated Squad for 5th ODI vs NZ –

Shreyas Iyer (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (vice-captain), Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav

Uncapped in Tests yet, Gurnoor has featured in 13 ODIs so far, picking up 23 wickets, with his best of 4/30 coming against New Zealand in the second ODI in Wellington. Meanwhile, in 22 first-class matches, the Punjab seamer has claimed 71 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls.

His inclusion, however, adds value to India’s five-man pace attack for the New Zealand Tests. The BCCI selectors had picked Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Anshul Kamboj and Akash Deep, with all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy offering more pace-bowling options to captain Gill. With Kuldeep Yadav released, India has only two frontline spin options in all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.

The Basin Reserve will host the series opener on November 19, while the second Test will get underway in Christchurch on November 27.