With the World Test Championship (WTC) in sight, Team India is gearing up to face New Zealand under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. The 15-member squad features regular batters, a mix of all-rounders, spinners, and fast bowlers.
Jasprit Bumrah has been named Vice Captain, serving as deputy to Rohit. The squad remains unchanged from the team that recently secured a 2-0 series win over Bangladesh, with the only omission being Yash Dayal. Notably, India has chosen not to name a replacement for him, instead opting for three specialist pacers—Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep—for the New Zealand series.
Veteran pacer Mohammed Shami is still out of action, as he recovers from a knee injury. Additionally, India has named four fast bowlers as travelling reserves for the series, with rising star Mayank Yadav earning a surprise spot after his T20I debut in the ongoing series against Bangladesh. Nitish Reddy, Harshit Rana, and a fully fit Prasidh Krishna round out the reserve list, ensuring India has sufficient fast-bowling options.
India’s recent victory over Bangladesh in Kanpur has solidified its top position on the WTC points table. The Men in Blue will now face New Zealand in a three-match Test series, starting with the first Test from October 16-20 in Bengaluru, followed by the second Test from October 24-28 in Pune, and the final Test from November 1-5 in Mumbai.
India squad for New Zealand Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep.
Travelling Reserves: Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna
