The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed the 15-man squad for the upcoming home Test series against New Zealand, which is set to begin in Bengaluru from October 16. The squad was on expected terms with no new addition from the squad that faced Bangladesh.
However, uncapped pacer Yash Dayal was left out of the squad, but there was no replacement named for him. The Rohit Sharma-led team has just three pacers in the squad, which indicates a chance of tactics against the Black Caps. The hosts played three pacers in the XI against Bangladesh, but that could change against New Zealand, where they return to the old combination of three spinners alongside two pacers.
This means Kuldeep Yadav returns to the playing XI after being benched for both the Chennai and Kanpur Tests. This would mean that Akash Deep misses out despite the impressive start to his Test career. Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace attack, with Mohammed Siraj sharing the new ball with him. Although Siraj's form has been a cause of concern, it will be too early for the team management to think of leaving him out of XI unless he is rested for workload management.
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No changes are expected in the batting unit, with Rohit and Yashasi Jaiswal set to continue opening the batting while Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul form a star-studded middle order. India's legendary spin-bowling duo of of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, who are also among the best all-rounders in the world bat at numbers seven and eight respectively.
This means that Sarfaraz Khan, Axar Patel, and Dhruv Jurel will have to wait longer for their chance.
India Likely Playing For New Zealand Test Series: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
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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