The India squad for the upcoming two Tests against the Black Caps was announced on Friday – a day after the T20 side was announced.
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BCCI announced Team India’s 16-player squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against New Zealand starting November 25 in Kanpur. Virat Kohli will miss the first Test and will return in the second Test match at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from December 3. After a disappointing T20 World Cup, Team India will be eager to get things right in the Test and T20 series against the Black Caps.
Ajinkya Rahane will lead the Indian team in the first Test in Kohli’s absence. Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami will miss the two-match series as a few new names were added to the squad.
#TeamIndia squad for NZ Tests:
A Rahane (C), C Pujara (VC), KL Rahul, M Agarwal, S Gill, S Iyer, W Saha (WK), KS Bharat (WK), R Jadeja, R Ashwin, A Patel, J Yadav, I Sharma, U Yadav, Md Siraj, P Krishna
*Virat Kohli will join the squad for the 2nd Test and will lead the team. pic.twitter.com/FqU7xdHpjQ
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 12, 2021
KS Bharat, who stole the limelight playing for Kohli-led RCB in the second half of the IPL 2021 will be the backup wicket-keeper for Wriddhiman Saha as well as middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer too was named in the side most probably in place of Hanuma Vihari.
Vihari didn’t play in Hyderabad’s last game in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy due to an injury and that might be the reason for him being left out as there was no reason specified in the BCCI release for his exclusion.
The spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja keep their place. Apart from that off-spinning all-rounder Jayant Yadav was also named along with pacer Praisdh Krishna.
Cheteshwar Pujara will be the vice-captain for the first Test while Shubman Gill returned to the fold after missing out in the England series due to a stress fracture.
Team India squad for two Tests against New Zealand: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Cheteshwar Pujara (vc), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Virat Kohli*
* Virat Kohli is set to join the squad from the second Test.
The BCCI has surprised fans with their squad selection for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand. Some of the squad’s senior players have been given a rest, while exciting talents have been chosen for the series. BCCI on Tuesday announced a 16-member squad for the T20I series against the Kiwis at home, starting from November 17. Rohit Sharma – as expected – was named the new T20I captain of India with star batsman Virat Kohli being rested from the side. KL Rahul has been appointed as vice-captain of the team, which will also see Venkatesh Iyer and Harshal Patel receiving maiden call-ups. In total, the Men in Blue will play three T20Is against New Zealand later this month.
.@ImRo45 all set to lead #TeamIndia‘s T20I squad against New Zealand. ? ?
How excited are you for the home series? #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/wGCe0gBbL2
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 9, 2021
Apart from Kohli, the other big names to miss out from the squad are bowling sensations Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, while all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja have also been rested for the T20Is. It is believed that the reason behind resting some of the senior players might be because of the fact that India embark on a long tour of South Africa in December. Some of these players have been playing at a continuous stretch since India’s tour of England in August. It was followed by the IPL and the T20 World Cup in the UAE. The much-needed break could help them freshen up in time for the Proteas tour.
