India confirmed the squad for the New Zealand series
Photo : AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- India named the squad for the three Tests against New Zealand
- Yash Dayal was left out
- Mohammed Shami was not included
The Indian cricket team announced a 15-member squad to face New Zealand in the upcoming three-match Test series set to begin on October 16 in Bengaluru. Jasprit Bumrah was confirmed as the new vice-captain of the team, which seemingly confirms the star pacer will lead the team in Rohit Sharma's absence in Australia.
There was no new addition from the team that whitewashed Bangladesh. However, uncapped pacer Yash Dayal was dropped from the squad. Earlier in the day, Dayal was named in Uttar Pradesh's (UP) XI for their Ranji Trophy 2024 opener against Bengal.
Dayal was released from the Indian squad during the second Test against Bangladesh to play the Irani Cup. Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel had also left Kanpur mid-matchand travelled to Lucknow, but they both retained their spot in the team. The India team did not name a replacement for Dayal and have decided to go into the series with just three pacers.
Elsewhere, there were no surprises, but the team has still not named a backup opener, leaving doubts over who will open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal if Rohit is not available for one Test in the Australia series.
There was no place for Mohammed Shami, putting huge doubts over his fitness status for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT).
Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna were named as the travelling reserves.
India will face New Zealand in the first Test from October 16 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Later, the teams will move to Pune for the second Test on October 24. The third and final Test will take place at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
This will be India's last series at home in Test cricket in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The Rohit-led side are on top of the standings and favourites to reach the 2025 final scheduled to take place at Lord's from June 11 to 15.
India Squad For New Zealand Series: 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
Travelling Reserves: Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna
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