Kanpur, First Published Nov 23, 2021, 7:31 PM IST
India beat New Zealand 3-0 in a whitewash in the T20 series between India and New Zealand. This will be followed by a series of 2 Test matches.
The first Test will be played in Kanpur on the 25th. The 2nd Test will be played at Wankhede, Mumbai from December 3.
Since this Test series is for the ICC World Test Championship, both teams will be on the verge of victory. Defeating the Indian team in India is not an easy task for any team. As such, it will be a big challenge for New Zealand to beat the Indian team in India beyond the Indian spinners.
The Indian team, led by Ajinkya Rahane, is bang on as Virat Kohli did not play in the match. KL Rahul also withdrew from the series due to injury. So Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill will be the starting players. Pujara in 3rd row, Captain Rahane in 5th row. Shreyas Iyer is expected to play in the 4th row. Shreyas Iyer, who has yet to play in international Test cricket, is expected to make his debut in the tournament.
He is expected to be joined by wicketkeeper KS Bharath. Since Rishabh Pund did not play in the series, senior wicketkeeper Rithiman Saha and budding wicketkeeper KS Bharath have been included in the squad. Considering the future of Indian Test cricket, it is more likely that senior player Saha will be dressed as a budding player rather than dressed. Also, Bharath is a better batsman than Saha and he has more chances.
In terms of bowling combination, the Indian team will play a combination of 3 spinners and 2 fast bowlers. Ashwin, Jadeja and Akshar Patel are the three spinners and Ishant Sharma and Mohammad Siraj are the fast bowlers.
Proposed Indian team:
Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Pujara, Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane (captain), KS Bharath (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Siraj.
Last Updated Nov 23, 2021, 7:31 PM IST
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