The BCCI, on Friday (October 11), announced the India National Cricket Team squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against New Zealand. The 15-member India squad will be led by Rohit Sharma.
High-flying India will be looking to continue their domination at home by registering another series win. Having defeated Bangladesh 2-0 a few days ago, Team India will be looking to deliver a similar performance against New Zealand. A clean sweep of the series will also all but seal India’s passage to the final of the ICC World Test Championship for the third time in a row.
India squad for New Zealand series revealed
Mohammed Shami was expected to be named in the squad but the fast-bowler has missed out once again. Shami has not played any competitive game since the World Cup final in November last year. He was sidelined with an ankle injury and is yet to make his comeback.
The selectors have decided against making too many changes to the India squad that defeated Bangladesh in the two-match Test series. Left-arm pacer Yash Dayal, who was the 16th member of the squad for the series against Bangladesh, has failed to make the cut for the New Zealand series.
The other members have retained their places in the squad. The selectors have also named as many as four traveling reserves – Nitish Reddy, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav, and Prasidh Krishna. Both Reddy and Mayank recently made their India debut in the T20I series against Bangladesh and hit the ground running. Krishna, on the other hand, has represented India in the past while Rana is yet to play any game for India.
Jasprit Bumrah named vice-captain of India squad in Tests
The biggest update in the new India squad is the appointment of Jasprit Bumrah as the vice-captain. Even though Jasprit Bumrah was the designated vice-captain for the series against South Africa and England earlier this year, he was not named the vice-captain for the series against Bangladesh.
There were rumors that Shubman Gill might be named as the new vice-captain. However, the selectors have named Jasprit Bumrah as the vice-captain once again, thus making it clear that he is being seen as Rohit Sharma’s successor.
Talking about New Zealand, they are coming to India after a dismal series defeat in Sri Lanka. They suffered heavy defeats in both the Tests against the Islanders and will be looking to make amends in the upcoming series. With only 3 wins from 8 games, they are all but out of the WTC finals race and will be looking to end their campaign on a high.
The India vs New Zealand series is scheduled to be played from October 16. The first Test will be played in Bengaluru.
India squad for the three Tests against New Zealand:
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep
Traveling Reserves: Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna