Despite the probability of Gill being prepared as the future captain, Bumrah is chosen as the best option to assist Rohit in the tests. Shami will continue to rehabilitate, making himself unfit for another test series ahead of the BGT.
(Cricket news) BCCI announced almost an identical squad from the previous test series against Bangladesh with just one exclusion of Yash Dayal, the left-arm pacer who earned his maiden call for the 2-match series but will not be part of the 15-man squad announced for New Zealand’s test series. To cover that, India has added a batting all-rounder in the form of Nitish Kumar Reddy in the reserves, along with 3 hit-the-deck pacers with the likes of Mayank Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, and Harshit Rana.
The inclusion of these three bowlers clearly signals India’s preparation for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in late November to fulfill the role of Mohammad Shami if not available. Prasidh Krishna has got the gist of international cricket and has also played two overseas tests against South Africa, where he did not have a memorable series with just 2 wickets at an average of 65 and an economy above 4.50. Mayank and Harshit are the other two options but with null test experience at the biggest stage, to overcome this, India would have to make one of them play all three tests against New Zealand.
Despite the high probability of Gill being chosen as Rohit’s assistant in the test after being his deputy in the ODI and Suryakumar’s in T20i, Jasprit Bumrah is confirmed to lead the team in the opener of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy should Rohit Sharma miss the game, following the declaration of him being the permanent choice as India’s test team vice-captain, the decision would have a significant effect on Bumrah’s workload as this would make him play all the three tests against New Zealand and the upcoming 5 tests against Australia.
India’s top-order and middle-order are full of profound experience and potential, and with Rohit and Jaiswal the fierce duo of the Indian batting lineup, their contribution in the previous matches has significantly affected the result, where a perfect start was all India required. Jaiswal has featured in 15 test innings this year, scoring a miraculous 929 runs out of which 712 came from the England series. On the other hand, Rohit has just a lone century to his name in as many innings as Jaiswal played this year, but his presence alone at the top is crucial for the team.
Shubman Gill has had an illustrious season of 663 runs in 15 test innings with 2 tons and a 91 and would want to carry his form in Australia and make an impact from the first match at Perth by remembering his heroic 91 against the same opponents when India last visited the country. Kl Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Rishabh Pant are the pillars of the middle order. Virat has missed the whole series against England at home but looked in decent touch in his game against Bangladesh with the highest score of 47.
KL Rahul, who has always been promising and a reliable batter in the lineup, will have to play a huge role down the order should any collapse drill through the batting order. Rahul also missed the 3 test matches against England due to back stress but came back strong and fit by scoring 106 runs in 4 innings against Bangladesh at an average of 53 and a total of 22 2 impactful runs this year from 5 innings.
India’s spin department is completely secured and full of experienced individuals with the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel – who though have played a part in just 4 test innings against England, that too with the exclusion of Ravindra Jadeja due to a calf injury.
Ravi Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja are the two veterans who always find a way to provide a breakthrough on a lifeless wicket too and steady the innings, as they did in the first test match against Bangladesh in Chennai and the same would be expected from them in the New Zealand series. They both have more than 3000 runs each and a total of more than 800 wickets conjointly, both the Ravis transcend themselves in critical situations and take their team through the line either when batters collapse or other bowlers have not been able to execute their plans properly.
Kuldeep Yadav has played any red-ball cricket since the last test against England in Duleep Trophy and hadn’t featured in any of the game against Bangladesh, but he is the ace card of the bowling lineup. If India is one down in the upcoming series, he can be brought in for 1 pacer if India is going with a 3-2 bowling set, as his batting attribute also contributes for the team to some extent and his ability to take wickets even on a lifeless pitch has improved over the period, and his experience on Indian tracks would also be in his favour to make his spot in the XI in one of the tests across Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai.
Last time India played against New Zealand at home soil in 2021 for a 2-match test series, India win the series by 1-0 as the first test was saved by Kiwi’s tailender Ajaz Patel and Rachin Ravindra. They face each other again but this time both teams are coming with the same mindset but very different past outcomes, with India winning their last 6 successive test matches and New Zealand coming after a 2-0 defeat, which includes a last-match inning defeat against Sri Lanka.
India would continue to steer at the top of the WTC table and to cement their final spot, whereas New Zealand, who has just a 10% qualification chance, would look to improve their point percentage (PCT).
Also visit: India’s squad against New Zealand
