Team India have named a 15-member squad for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand. Speedster Mohammed Shami has not been picked yet as he continues to recover from injury. On the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah has been named the vice-captain for the series.
Shami who has not played for India since the Men’s World Cup final against Australia in November last year continues to remain on the sidelines as well. The rest of the Indian squad are nearly similar after the two-match Test series win against Bangladesh last month.
However, left-arm pacer Yash Dayal, who was the 16th member of the Indian squad in the Bangladesh series, has been left out as well. Additionally, three fast bowlers – Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav, and Prasidh Krishna – have been named as travelling reserves along with all-rounder Nitish Reddy as well.
India will begin the Test series in Bengaluru commencing on October 16 as well. However, Team India and New Zealand will play a Test series for the first time since 2021. After the first Test, the teams will then head to Pune for the second Test on October 24, with the final Test set for November 1 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai as well.
In 2021, New Zealand visited India for a two-match Test series, drawing the first Test before losing the second by 372 runs, facing a 1-0 series defeat as well.
India Squad:
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