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Why Is Shubman Gill Not Playing In 1st Test vs New Zealand In Bengaluru?

Shubman Gill is out of the first Test vs NZ (Source:@BCCI/X.com)Shubman Gill is out of the first Test vs NZ (Source:@BCCI/X.com)

Shubman Gill, the star Indian batter has not been selected in the Indian XI for the opening Test of the three-match series against New Zealand. Shubman Gill is out due to a stiff neck and Rohit Sharma at the toss explained that he is unfit to play the game. Meanwhile, India have won the toss and have decided to bat first as the match is set to start 15 minutes earlier on Day 2 after the first day was completely washed out.

Shubman Gill has been suffering from stiff neck for the last few games, and though he was involved in India's training session, the team management has decided to not risk the number 3 batter. KL Rahul is set to bat at his position in this Test and Sarfaraz Khan has been included in the XI. On the bowling front, India have added Kuldeep Yadav as the third spinner in the squad due to the dry nature of the pitch while Akash Deep misses out.

IND vs NZ: Playing XIs

New Zealand Playing XI: Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William O'Rourke

India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Lokesh Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav

New Zealand, on the other hand, have gone with three frontline pacers in their squad with Ajaz Patel, Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips set to handle spin department. They have a new captain from this series in the form of Tom Latham and they would be looking to use the overcast conditions to their advantage and get some early breakthroughs in the morning session.