A couple of days before the first Test against New Zealand, hosts India have been dealt an injury blow as senior player KL Rahul has been ruled. The Indian team have drafted in Suryakumar Yadav for the series.
"Rahul has sustained a muscle strain on his left thigh and has been ruled out for the series. He will now undergo rehabilitation at NCA in preparation for the series against South Africa scheduled next month," a BCCI statement on Tuesday read.
The team will be captained in the first Test by Ajinkya Rahane before Virat Kohli returns for the Mumbai game.
31-year-old Suryakumar had also been a late addition to the Test squad in England earlier this year, but is yet to make his debut in the format. A regular in the T20I squad, Suryakumar scored 508 runs in ten innings at an average of 56.44 and strike rate of 95.13, with two hundreds and two fifties in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy.
India are also without Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the Test series. Along with Rohit, the likes of Rishabh Pant, and pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami are also rested as part of BCCI’s workload management policy.
The first of two Tests begins on 25 November in Kanpur and it is likely that Shubman Gill will now open the innings with Mayank Agarwal.
India and New Zealand last played a Test in the World Test Championship final where the Kiwis won in Southampton.
India’s Test Squad
Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
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