Ajinkya Rahane To Lead India For The 1st Test Against New Zealand As BCCI Announced Squad For 2 Tests

Nov 12, 2021 at 3:02 PM

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Ajinkya Rahane To Lead India For The 1st Test Against New Zealand As BCCI Announced Squad For 2 Tests

Ajinkya Rahane will lead Team India for the first Test against New Zealand, while Virat Kohli has been rested for the opening Test. Rohit Sharma has been rested for the two-match Test series.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Friday (November 12) announced the Indian squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against New Zealand.

Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (Image Credit: Twitter)
Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (Image Credit: Twitter)

Ajinkya Rahane Will Lead India In The 1st Test While Virat Kohli Will Lead The Team In The 2nd Test

Opener Rohit Sharma has been rested for the Test series while regular skipper Virat Kohli will join the squad from the second Test. Ajinkya Rahane will lead the squad in the first Test while Cheteshwar Pujara has been named the vice-captain.

“Virat Kohli will join the squad for the 2nd Test and will lead the team,” BCCI said in a statement.

Virat Kohli with Ajinkya Rahane Image Source: GETTY IMAGE
Virat Kohli with Ajinkya Rahane Image Source: GETTY IMAGE

India’s Test specialist Hanuma Vihari has been dropped from the squad, while Shreyas Iyer has been named in the 16-man squad. Mohammad Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah – who have been spearheading India’s pace attack, have also been rested for the two Tests along with Rishabh Pant. In contrast, KS Bharat has been named in the squad as a backup wicketkeeper to Wriddhiman Saha.

Shreyas Iyer, Prasidh Krishna, And Jayant Yadav Make Comeback To The Test Squad

In Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s absence, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, and Shreyas Iyer will form India’s top-order in whites. Veteran Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and youngster Prasidh Krishna are the pacers named in the squad. At the same time, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, and Jayant Yadav are the four spinners.

Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer – Getty Images

Spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar, who played in India’s home series against England earlier this year, has also been excluded from the squad. However, Prasidh Krishna, who was included in India’s main squad ahead of their 4th Test against England at the Oval in September but was not part of the playing eleven, also finds a place in the team.

Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer made a comeback in the Test squad along with off-spinner Jayant Yadav. India and New Zealand will play two Tests against each other in the upcoming series that kicks off on November 17 with three T20 Internationals. The two matches will be played at Kanpur and Mumbai, respectively, from November 25 and December 3.

Rohit Sharma was recently named India’s T20I skipper, and he will lead the team in the three-match T20I series, which will be his first full-time assignment as India’s T20I captain. However, keeping the players’ workload in mind, it was speculated that senior players will be rested for the Test series following a packed schedule in the last six months.

India’s squad for NZ Tests:

Ajinkya Rahane (captain for 1st Test), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

** Virat Kohli (captain for 2nd Test, won’t play 1st Test)

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