Regular skipper Virat Kohli has been rested for the series opener and will join the team as captain in the second Test. In the absence of Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane will lead the team in the first Test while senior batter Cheteshwar Pujara will be his deputy.
“Virat Kohli will join the squad for the second Test and will lead the team,” said BCCI in an official statement.
T20I skipper Rohit Sharma, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, and pace trio of Jaspirt Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Shardul Thakur are not part of the Test squad.
Wriddiman Saha and KS Bharat have been picked as wicketkeepers for the Test leg. KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer are also part of the Test squad.
On the bowling front, Ishant Sharma will lead the fast bowling unit featuring the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Prasidh Krishna. The apex Indian board has also named as many as four spinners – Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Jayant Yadav – in the outfit.
The first Test will be hosted by the iconic Green Park in Kanpur, while the second and last match of the red-ball series will take place at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Here is India’s Test squad for the New Zealand series:
Ajinkya Rahane (c), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara (vc), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
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