After losing their first test series at home in 12 years, the Indian cricket team will take the field in the third test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from Friday (November 1) in hope of avoiding a whitewash and getting a vital victory in their race to reach the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Jasprit Bumrah is likely to be rested after playing four Tests in a row as the team ensures his workload is managed ahead of the big tour of Australia. Bumrah has had a rare, quite series, and with the series already lost, the 30-year-old could be given a break, which will ensure he has a month off the game before the series opener Down Under on November 22. Mohammed Siraj is likely to return to the playing XI after being benched in Pune, while Akash Deep retains his place.
There is unlikely to be any spot for either Axar Patel or Kuldeep Yadav after Washington Sundar's impressive display in the second Test with Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir's tactical gamble turning into a masterstroke. The red soil pitch in Mumbai is set to offer assistance for the tall off-spinner.
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Rishabh Pant was evidently troubled by a knee injury he suffered in the Bengaluru Test, and the team could give him a rest. With the 27-year-old arguably India's most important player for the Australia series, he could be rested while Dhruv Jurel gets a game. However, there are six days still left for the match, which could give the star wicketkeeper batter enough time to rest.
While changes will be pondered in the batting unit after back-to-back failures, India is set to retain the same personnel. After the bold call to drop KL Rahul while giving Sarfaraz Khan a chance, India isexpected to give the youngster a long rope.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are set to retain their places.
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India are likely to make just one change with Bumrah getting a break, while a second could be possible if Pant needs a rest.
India Predicted Playing XI vs New Zealand: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj