India vs New Zealand Test series: The Indian senior selection committee on Thursday decided to keep the seasoned test captain Ajinkya Rahane as the leader of the test side for the first test match against New Zealand, for which Virat Kohli has asked for rest.
India will host New Zealand for three matches T20I series followed by two test matches after the completion of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
It is noteworthy, earlier, new Indian T20I skipper Rohit Sharma was in contention to lead the test outfit in the first match, however, the thought has now been withdrawn after taking a thorough consideration of Rohit’s workload. Rohit has played consistent cricket for over six months and certainly needs a little break to get freshen up. Moreover, he will be a key Indian player in the marathon South Africa tour which follows the New Zealand home series.
As per TOI’s report, Sharma will be given a break for the two matches test series against New Zealand after both sides wrap the T20I series, which will be spearheaded by Rohit Sharma for India.
A couple of other senior members of the Indian test team will also not feature in the Test series including the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Mohammad Shami and Shardul Thakur.
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Regular test skipper Virat Kohli will assume the charge once he returns back from his break ahead of the second test match. Rahane will take up the charge for the opening match.
It is further learnt that either Shubman Gill or Mayank Agarwal will pair up with KL Rahul in the opening position in the test series against New Zealand. Wriddhiman Saha is kept as the first-choice wicketkeeper while Hanuma Vihari and Ajinkya Rahane will form the middle order.