Mohammed Siraj OUT, 29-Year-Old Star IN, No Sarfaraz Khan! Predicted India Playing XI For 1st Test Vs New Zealand
Photo : AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- India will take on New Zealand in a three-match Test Series.
- India have announced the squad for the series.
- Mohammed Siraj might be left out of the playing XI.
India are all set to take on New Zealand in the first Test of the three-match series at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. India need to whitewash the Kiwis in order to gain entry into the final of the World Test Championship 2025, for the third straight time. India need to field a strong playing XI in order to win the first Test. They have already announced their squad for the three Tests, and they would look to include a 29-year-old star in the lineup.
Batters
Captain Rohit Sharma will open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. Jaiswal has been in great form, and is India's top run-getter in the 2023-25 cycle of the World Test Championship. Shubman Gill will come out to bat at his new found position of no.3. Virat Kohli, will come out to bat at no. 4 and will hope to finally score some big runs and get back into form before the all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy vs Australia. Riushabh Pant will be the primary wicketkeeper-batter, and KL Rahul will come out to bat at no.6 ahead of Sarfaraz Khan.
All-Rounders
Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin will be the two strong all-round options coming in at 7 and 8 respectively. They are the best spinners in the world right now, and will also contribute with the bat when given the chance.
Bowlers
India will go ahead with three spinners and two pacers in the first Test vs New Zealand. Hence, Kuldeep Yadav will be the third spinner alongside Ashwin and Jadeja. The two pacers will be vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep. This would mean that Mohammed Siraj misses out.
Predicted Playing XI For India Vs New Zealand in 1st Test:
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep
Squad
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
Travelling Reserves: Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna
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