Opener Gautam Gambhir has made a return to the Indian Test squad after a two-year gap. The Delhi batsman, who turns 35 next month, was called up by the new Indian selection panel led by MSK Prasad to take the place of KL Rahul, who has injured his hamstring. Injured pacer Ishant Sharma has also been ruled out of the second Test match in Kolkata, with uncapped off-spinner Jayant Yadav being named as his replacement.
Gambhir has been in good form in the domestic Duleep Trophy recently, scoring 356 runs in five innings at an average of 71.20. He played his last Test match in August 2014 against England at the Oval, where he scored 0 and 3 in two innings, respectively.
India currently lead the three-match Test series against New Zealand 1-0 after cruising to a 197-run win in the first Test, which was played in Kanpur. The second Test begins on September 30 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, which also marks the 250th Test that India will be playing at home.