Jasprit Bumrah Returns and Rishabh Pant Named in India’s Test Squad for New Zealand Series

The Big Returns: Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah makes his much-anticipated return to the red-ball setup, bolstering India's pace attack after missing recent limited-overs blocks. Rishabh Pant's Inclusion & Fitness Caveat: Star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been named in the squad, but his inclusion remains subject to fitness clearance. He is recovering from a left side strain picked up during the domestic Irani Cup.

Leadership & Composition: The team will be captained by Shubman Gill, with KL Rahul serving as vice-captain. The squad features a strong mix of experience and emerging talents, including Dhruv Jurel as a backup wicketkeeper option, alongside key bowling assets like Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav.

Series Schedule: The two-match Test series forms a crucial part of India's away international calendar, kicking off with the opening Test in Wellington on November 19.

There was no room for Manav Suthar, who claimed a chart-topping 16 wickets in four innings in Sri Lanka. India picked two spin-bowling allrounders in Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar to go with Kuldeep Yadav for the New Zealand Test tour.

After being sidelined from the Test series in Sri Lanka with a toe injury, B Sai Sudharsan returned to the squad, potentially as a back-up batter. He had recently returned to action in the four-day and one-day series against Australia A in Puducherry.

While regular captain Gill will lead India in the first three ODIs, Shreyas Iyer will take over for the last two games. Like Gill, Rahul and Kamboj will also feature in only the first three ODIs before ramping up their prep for the Test series. Jadeja, who was part of the ODI squad against West Indies, was left out.

Wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra, who's been in splendid form across formats this year, was handed a maiden India call-up, having been included in the squad for the fourth and fifth ODIs.

India Test squad against New Zealand

Shubman Gill (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vice-capt), Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant (wk)*, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj

India squad for first three ODIs

Shubman Gill (capt), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan (wk), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna*, Kuldeep Yadav