India Announces Squad for New Zealand Test Series

India revealed a 15-player squad for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand, commencing on October 16 in Bengaluru. The team closely resembles the one that defeated Bangladesh 2-0. Jasprit Bumrah is named vice-captain, while Mohammed Shami returns from injury as India aims to maintain their unbeaten home streak.

In a significant announcement on Friday, India revealed its 15-player squad for the upcoming three-Test series against New Zealand, set to commence on October 16 in Bengaluru. This lineup closely mirrors the team that secured a dominant 2-0 victory in their recent encounter with Bangladesh.

Notably, India's selection strategy involved trimming the squad size from 16 to 15 players. Consequently, left-arm pacer Yash Dayal, who was initially included for both matches against Bangladesh but later released, has been omitted from the roster.

Rohit Sharma continues to captain the side with star pacer Jasprit Bumrah taking over as vice-captain after the position was left vacant during the Bangladesh series. The series also marks the eagerly anticipated return of experienced pacer Mohammed Shami, who is back in action after a lengthy recovery from an ankle injury post the ODI World Cup last year.

Emerging talent Mayank Yadav, who recently debuted for India in the T20I series against Bangladesh, is listed as a traveling reserve, along with Harshit Rana, Nitish Reddy, and Prasidh Krishna. Reddy also marked his debut in the ongoing T20I series against Bangladesh.

The two teams approach this Test series with contrasting recent performances. While New Zealand's tour of Asia has yet to yield a win, India maintains an impressive home record, staying undefeated in Test series on domestic soil since 2012. New Zealand, led by Tom Latham after Tim Southee's resignation, seeks to turn their fortunes around following a disheartening 2-0 loss to Sri Lanka.

The Test series will unfold across three venues, beginning in Bengaluru on October 16, followed by Pune on October 24, and concluding in Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium on November 1.

India's squad for the series is announced as follows: Rohit Sharma (captain), Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep.

Traveling reserves include Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav, and Prasidh Krishna.

(With inputs from agencies.)