5 Decisions Kohli Needs to Make Before Test Series vs New Zealand

New Zealand are the first top side India face away from home in the ICC Test Championship.

(Photo: Twitter/@S_R_J_18)

After a humiliation in the ODI series where the visitors were blanked 0-3, Virat Kohli & Co will want to bounce back in style in the two –match Test series that gets underway at Basin Reserve, Wellington on 21 February.

The No 1 Test side will start favourites away from home as well in a bid to continue their purple patch in the World Test Championships but there are a few factors that Virat Kohli needs to address ahead of the last leg of the tour of New Zealand.

For a start, India will have to bank on an inexperienced opening pair in either Prithvi Shaw or Shubman Gill to start up the order along with Mayank Agarwal given Rohit Sharma had been ruled out of the series.

Also, the Indian think-tank need to decide on how many spinner they want to field at Basin Reserve and opt for either Ravindra Jadeja or Ravichandran Ashwin in the line-up.

In all probability though, it will be one spinner with Hanuma Vihari donning the role of the fifth bowler in the side besides the pace trio of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.

It will be an interesting contest between the two sides nonetheless, given New Zealand will be the first top side India face away from home in the ICC Test Championship as well.