Jasprit Bumrah named vice-captain in India’s 15-man squad for New Zealand series

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a 15-member squad on Friday, October 11 for the upcoming three-match Test series against New Zealand.

Notably, India and New Zealand are set to lock horns from October 17 with the first match scheduled to be held at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

The selection committee has retained the same squad from the recent two-match Test series against Bangladesh which India won by 2-0. Speedster Jasprit Bumrah has been awarded the vice-captaincy of the Test team courtesy of his stellar performances in the longest format for a number of years.

Notably, Bumrah recently reclaimed the top spot in the ICC Test bowling rankings, dethroning his teammate Ravichandran Ashwin from the pole position. The speedster finished as the joint-highest wicket-taker of the series against Bangladesh with 11 wickets to his name from two matches at an average of 12.81.

Ever since his return to the Indian team in August 2023 after a back surgery, Bumrah has been in phenomenal form across formats. In Tests, he has scalped 42 wickets from eight matches after his comeback at an outstanding average of 14.69 with best figures of 6/45. The 30-year-old has scalped 170 wickets so far from 38 Tests at an average of 20.18 with ten five-wicket hauls to his name. Bumrah has also captained India once, during the rescheduled fifth Test match against England in July 2022 in Edgbaston.

Having been awarded the vice-captaincy, Bumrah will look to play an even more proactive role in the team’s strategy on the field. The right-arm seamer played both Tests against Bangladesh and hence is also likely to be rested for at least one Test against New Zealand ahead of the all-important five-match Test tour to Australia.

Mohammed Shami continues to recover
Meanwhile, apart from him, the rest of the squad looks the same as fast bowler Mohammed Shami continues to recover from his ankle injury and is likely to play a few matches in the Ranji Trophy before making his comeback to the team. Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna have been named as travelling reserves. Left-arm seamer Yash Dayal, who earned his maiden India call-up for Bangladesh Tests, has also missed out from the team with the Ranji Trophy season beginning.

In the upcoming series, India might look to give opportunities to players who didn’t feature against Bangladesh namely Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav to keep them match-ready ahead of the Australia series. After the first Test in Bengaluru, India and New Zealand will play the second and third Test in Pune and Mumbai respectively.

India’s squad for the three Tests against New Zealand: 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

Travelling Reserves: Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna