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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have announced 16-man squad for the upcoming 2-match Test series against New Zealand. The series will commence after the conclusion of the three T20Is. The workload of players have been kept in mind as far as selction is concerned .
The first Test will begin on November 25 at Green Park, Kanpur. The New Zealand tour of India will conclude after the 2nd and the final Test, that will be played at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from December 3.
Ajinkya Rahane will lead India in the Kanpur Test as Virat Kohli has been rested. Cheteshwar Pujara has been named the vice-captain for the first Test. Both Rahane and Pujara had come under scrutiny with their form in England . Onus on them to get some form back now at home before the South African tour .
Rohit Sharma, who will lead the Men in Blue in the three T20Is, will skip the entire series. The board has also confirmed that Kohli will join the squad for the 2nd Test in Mumbai and will lead the team.
In another major development, wicketkeeper-batsman KS Bharat has been included, along with Wriddhiman Saha who will be first choice wicket- keeper. India’s number one wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant and seamers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami have been rested .
Pace attack will by experienced Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna. Experienced Ravichandran Ashwin leads the spin attack along with Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel
#TeamIndia squad for NZ Tests:
A Rahane (C), C Pujara (VC), KL Rahul, M Agarwal, S Gill, S Iyer, W Saha (WK), KS Bharat (WK), R Jadeja, R Ashwin, A Patel, J Yadav, I Sharma, U Yadav, Md Siraj, P Krishna
*Virat Kohli will join the squad for the 2nd Test and will lead the team. pic.twitter.com/FqU7xdHpjQ
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 12, 2021
The squad : Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna. Head Coach : Rahul Dravid
