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Siraj Excluded, Akash Deep To Be Rewarded; India's Strongest XI For 1st Test Vs New Zealand

Siraj to be excluded from IND playing 11 [Source: @OneCricketApp/X.Com] Siraj to be excluded from IND playing 11 [Source: @OneCricketApp/X.Com]

BCCI, on Friday released India's Test squad for the series against New Zealand, starting on October 16. The selectors have kept the same squad from the previous series against Bangladesh, and selected a strong squad to play against a strong Kiwi side.

Interestingly, India have finally named a vice-captain for the New Zealand series, as Bumrah has been given the responsibility to be Rohit Shama's deputy. The Indian team is unstoppable at home, and the visitors have a mountain to climb against a compact home side. Don't expect too many chopping and changes for the first Test, however, there is one area where India might look to tweak.

Rohit to omit Siraj from first Test

Mohammed Siraj had an underwhelming Test series against Bangladesh last month. In the two-match Test series, the Hyderabad pacer picked up just 4 wickets and was the least impressive fast bowler in the series.

Plus, Siraj is playing non-stop cricket for a while now and India need to manage his workload ahead of the BGT Vs Australia next month. Moreover, Akash Deep was impressive Vs Bangladesh and was arguably the best pacer alongside Bumrah in the series. Hence, he should be rewarded and should be the second pacer alongside Bumrah in the lineup.

Batting core remains the same

The batting core remains the same, with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli. Rishabh Pant will be the first-choice keeper and KL Rahul will also be there in the side to form a formidable 6 in the batting lineup.

India to go with 3 spinners?

New Zealand struggled against Sri Lankan spinners recently, and the Indian side might be tempted to include three spinners in the side. R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and one of Axar Patel/Kuldeep Yadav will be the third spinner in the playing XI.

India strongest XI Vs New Zealand

Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav/Axar Patel, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah