No Rohit, Pant as India announce squad for New Zealand Test series; Shreyas Iyer makes the cut
India have announced their Test squad for New Zealand series.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday (November 12) announced India's squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against New Zealand. Captain Virat Kohli will miss the first Test and return to lead the team in the second Test. His deputy Ajinkya Rahane will lead the team in Kohli's absence.
Senior opening batter Rohit Sharma, who was recently appointed as the Indian team's skipper in T20Is, will be missing the entire two-match series along with wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant to get a much-needed break after months of regular cricket.
In Rohit's absence, Mayank Agarwal is likely to open the innings with Shubman Gill with KL Rahul at no.3 in Kohli's absence during the first Test. Shreyas Iyer has also made the cut in the Test squad and is likely to feature in the middle-order if he makes his debut in the series.
In the absence of Pant, senior keeper Wriddhiman Saha has been selected in the squad along with young KS Bharat, who has been continuously impressing in the domestic circuit. Star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who has been rested from the T20I series against the Kiwis, will return to feature in the Tests.
Senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who has also been rested from the T20Is will continue his break and will not take part in the Test series. In his absence, India have handed a maiden Test call-up to Prasidh Krishna, who will be eager to make his Test debut after impressing in the domestic circuit.
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Mohammed Shami will also miss both the T20I and the Test series against New Zealand. Senior pacer Ishant Sharma will spearhead India's pace attack in the absence of Shami and Bumrah. Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav along with Prasidh are the other pacers in the squad.
Haryana all-rounder Jayant Yadav and Axar Patel have been also included in the squad. India have a total of four spin all-rounders in the team with R Ashwin and Jadeja likely to be the first-choice players. India will play two Tests against New Zealand in Kanpur and Mumbai respectively.
India's squad for New Zealand Test series:
Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
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