The Board of Control for Cricket in India has confirmed the 15-man squad that will be playing the home three-match series against New Zealand. This was followed by a new announcement of Jasprit Bumrah as the Test vice-captain. The 15-member squad that had nearly all members from the team that then went on to register a comprehensive 2-0 victory over Bangladesh has undergone only slight changes. It is vice-captaincy and that too of Bumrah who comes at a time when there have been reports going around that captain Rohit Sharma could be missing one of the first Tests in Australia later this year.

Jasprit Bumrah: The Vice-Captain Of Team India

India hasn’t announced a vice-captain for the last two-Test series against Bangladesh. Bumrah has been an important member of the Test XI for the past couple of years and captained India last in the fifth Test against England, at Edgbaston in July 2022 which India lost by seven wickets, leaving the series 2-2.

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Along with Bumrah, the traveling reserve includes express pace bowler Mayank Yadav with fast-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy also joining the list. Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna have also been included in the reserves as India has chosen a strong pace attack. Mayank is widely regarded as a probable for the upcoming tour of Australia for the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Reddy may also earn a debut as India is not yet done looking for a reliable pace-bowling all-rounder.

Mohammed Shami Not Picked, Injury Concerns Still Linger

Confirming that the full-strength squad is in place for all three Tests, it indicated Bumrah intended to play India’s home red-ball international season before the arduous tour of Australia. Mohammed Shami has not been picked in the Test squad as he hasn’t yet recovered from an ankle injury. Even the his domestic team, Bengal have left him out of their opening Ranji Trophy matches, and the fast bowler is still trying to get up to attain full match fitness. He underwent surgery earlier this year and did not play competitively since the 2023 ODI World Cup final.

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IND Vs NZ: Test Series Schedule & Full Squad

The first Test of the series against New Zealand will be played in Bengaluru on October 16, while the second match will take place on October 24 at Pune. Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium is set to play the third Test from November 1. This will be their last Test series.

India full squad for New Zealand Test series: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (WK) Kuldeep Yadav, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Akash Deep, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohd. Siraj, KL Rahul, Axar Patel.

Travelling Reserves: Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna