The Indian Test squad was announced for the upcoming 2-match series against New Zealand and it has created a lot of hype around it. A lot of decisions taken by the selectors have come under the spotlight. Rohit Sharma will be missing the entire Test series against the Kiwis, while Virat Kohli has been rested from the first Test.

Ajinkya Rahane will lead the Indian team for the first Test match against the Black Caps. Also, apart from Sharma, the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, and Rishabh Pant will not be taking part in the Test series as well. Hanuma Vihari has been overlooked for the Test series, and Shreyas Iyer has been included in the Test squad. Iyer has not played a single Test match for the Indian side.

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Shreyas Iyer has been selected in the Indian Test squad in order to groom him as a backup option in the Indian middle-order in red-ball cricket. Hanuma Vihari and Prithvi Shaw have been included in the India A team which will be touring South Africa so that they can get acclimatized to the conditions in South Africa ahead of India’s three-match Test series against the Proteas in December.

A source also stated that Head Coach Rahul Dravid wanted shadow A tours to take place ahead away tours of Team India. And, that was the rationale behind sending Vihari and Shaw to South Africa. The source also stated that the likes of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja can also be used as batting options as well.

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The source explained, “One must remember Dravid had advocated for shadow ‘A’ tours. before every big away tour. Anyway, a larger squad will be there in South Africa. This allows Vihari and Prithvi to get used to the conditions and if they do well they will be inducted into the Test team in South Africa. Anyway, India never needed specialist batters till No. 7 in India. Ravindra Jadeja can bat up the order and R Ashwin too has been good on Indian pitches.”