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The BCCI recently named India's squad for the upcoming three-Test series against New Zealand. The opening game will commence at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, October 16.
The squad wears a similar look to the one that trounced Bangladesh 2-0 recently. India have clearly settled on a core that will serve them well both home and away, with a high-profile tour of Australia on the calendar not long after the New Zealand series.
India’s squad for the three Tests against New Zealand: 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, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep
On that note, here are three clear indications from India's squad for the New Zealand Test series.
#3 Jasprit Bumrah might lead India Down Under
India have named a vice-captain for the New Zealand Tests, with Jasprit Bumrah handed the role. The fast bowler has worn the blazer to the toss before, but concerns over his workload have prevented the team from considering him as a full-time option.
Nevertheless, Bumrah's appointment as vice-captain could have a massive say on things. Reports suggest that Rohit Sharma might miss a section of the Australia tour due to personal reasons, and India will need someone to step in for the veteran.
Bumrah, whose leadership has been praised before, could be the man to stand opposite Pat Cummins at the toss. Others like Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul have been ignored for now.
#2 The team management didn't like what they saw of Yash Dayal
Yash Dayal earned his maiden call-up to the Indian team for the Bangladesh Test series, where he didn't play a game as the hosts went in with an unchanged side. However, the left-arm seamer finds himself out of the squad for the New Zealand rubber.
In fact, Dayal hasn't even been named in the traveling reserves, which feature fast bowlers Prasidh Krishna, Mayank Yadav and Harshit Rana. While there has been no official communication from the selectors, it's safe to say that the team management didn't like what they saw of the seamer.
India desperately need to groom some pace backups, with Mohammed Shami's fitness being up in the air and Mohammed Siraj's form being rather inconsistent lately. In that regard, their decision to pick and drop Dayal was rather puzzling. Speaking of which...
#1 India are aware of the need to develop their traveling reserves
It's rare for a home team to name four traveling reserves. Apart from the aforementioned trio, India have also picked Nitish Kumar Reddy to be part of the contingent.
The hosts clearly know that they need to solidify their pace attack for the Australia series. In fact, they might even need to call up one or more of these names against New Zealand if the three-pacer strategy continues.
It'll be interesting to see if any of these fast bowlers make an appearance in the upcoming fixtures.
