The BCCI today announced India’s squad for the upcoming New Zealand test. No surprises for guessing as Kohli and Rohit Sharma,Bumrah have both rested. While skipper Virat Kohli is rested for one Test and will make an appearance in the second and final Test, Rohit Sharma will be rested for both the Tests. After its disappointing performance at the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021, team India is set to lock horns with the T20 World Cup finalist New Zealand.

The team selection has been a mix of surprise and obvious intervention by the BCCI. The inclusion of Shreyas Iyer despite his inconsistent performance shows the board’s trust in him. On the other side, Hanuma Tiwari is not selected, despite his consistent performance.

Background

The upcoming New Zealand tour in India will be the dawn of a ‘new’ Indian team who is jolted and jittered after its lackluster performance in the ICC T20 world cup. The performance came in the form of a lot of questions that were already being raised about the team’s middle order, the management and the selection bias that the team management has categorically denied.

The excruciating exit from the World Cup will also force the management to create a different team for all different formats. For the longest time, the management has always believed in having its best players play all formats of the game – leading to workload fatigue and other factors.


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The Facts of the Matter

The BCCI has announced a 16-man team for the upcoming two-Test series against New Zealand. The first Test is scheduled to be played from November 25 and the second Test will be played from December 7. The new team will be missing the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah. While Rohit Sharma is rested due to his intense schedule, Virat will be taking the field for the second Test.

No Kohli, Pant, Shami, Rohit, Bumrah!

In the absence of skipper Kohli, the reign of the team will be handed to Ajinkya Rahane who has been the deputy for Kohli in many matches. Test vetted batter Cheteshwar Pujara will serve as the Vice-Captain. Further, wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant and pacer Mohammed Shami too have been rested.


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Shreyas Iyer May Play First International Test

In the places of these veteran players, new blood will be expected to fuel its energy and perspective to India. Shreyas Iyer is included in the squad. Primarily known as a white-ball cricket player, Iyer will be playing his first Test if he’s selected in the final XI. Due to his injury, he couldn’t play in the first leg of IPL and was also not selected for the ICC World Cup 2021.

K.S. Bharat As the Surprise Selection

Another extremely baffling inclusion is the selection of K.S. Bharat. While the Andhra Pradesh based wicket-keeper batter was included in a squad against England as an injury cover, he is yet to play his first ever Test match. Interestingly enough, he has yet to play a single game internationally for the Indian side across any fate.

Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja aka Sir Jadeja will be taking the field and will be a much-needed all-rounder specialist for the Indian side. Axar Patel who has been having a decent outing at IPL editions is also included while Jayant Yadav will be expected to make a good return after just having a best performance of 3/30.


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India’s Squad For Test Against New Zealand

Ajinkya Rahane (c), K. L. Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara (vc), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), K. S. Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna