Rohit Sharma will lead the 15-member Indian men’s cricket team for the three-match Test series at home against New Zealand, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced late on Friday.
The Indians will compete against New Zealand in the series that starts with the first test in Bengaluru on October 16, followed by the second Test on October 24 in Pune, and the third on November 1 in Mumbai.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been named as the vice-captain of the team, with Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep completing a three-pronged pace attack.
In the spin department, India has veteran Ravichandran Ashwin in the ranks, along with Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
Rishabh Pant will be expected to wear the wicket-keeping gloves with Dhruv Jurel available as a backup.
Sharma will be expected to open the batting along with Yashasvi Jaiswal, while Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan form the rest of the batting lineup.
The BCCI also named four reserve players for the series – Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna.
Indian 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, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep
Reserves: Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav, Prasidh Krishna
