Top-order batter Rohit Sharma, wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant and the pace-bowling duo of Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are not in the squad for the two-Test series against New Zealand, beginning in Kanpur on November 25.
The All-India Senior Selection Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), while announcing the squad for the two Tests, did not give any reason for their exclusion, although it is widely speculated that they have been rested due to the gruelling schedule over the last six months.
India will also be without Virat Kohli for the opening Test but he will return for the second Test in Mumbai, scheduled from December 3-7. Ajinkya Rahane will captain India in the Kanpur Test, with Cheteshwar Pujara named his deputy.
“Virat Kohli will join the squad for the second Test and will lead the team,” said a BCCI statement on Friday.
India’s Test 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 and Prasidh Krishna.
