Bumrah, Washington, Nitish, Akash Deep return to India’s squad for Tests against New Zealand

New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS) Premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, along with off-spinning all-rounder Washington Sundar, seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, and pacer Akash Deep have returned to India’s 16-member squad for the upcoming two-match Test series in New Zealand.

To accommodate the incoming quartet of Bumrah, Sundar, Nitish and Akash Deep, along with B Sai Sudharsan returning after recovering from injuries, batter Sarfaraz Khan, left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, off-spinner Saransh Jain, and pacers Auqib Nabi and Gurnoor Brar have been left out of the team.

Shubman Gill will continue to lead the side, with senior batter KL Rahul named as his vice-captain. The top order boasts a formidable batting lineup – Gill, Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal and Sudharsan.

First-choice wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant and fast bowler Prasidh Krishna have both been included in the squad, though the BCCI stated that their availability remains subject to final fitness clearances.

Pant is recovering from a left-side strain which he picked up while leading Rest of India during the Irani Cup game against Jammu & Kashmir in Srinagar, which also ruled him out of the first two India A red-ball games against New Zealand A.

Prasidh, meanwhile, is recuperating from a left hamstring injury sustained during an ODI against the West Indies in Guwahati. Dhruv Jurel, who is captaining India A on the shadow red-ball tour, retains his place in the Test team as the second wicketkeeping option.

Bumrah returns to lead the pace attack alongside Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh, and seamer Anshul Kamboj, who’s back in the team after the 2025 tour of England. Veteran left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Washington form the spin unit, while Nitish adds further balance as a seam-bowling all-rounder.

The two-match Test series will kick off on November 19 at Wellington, followed by the second and final Test at Christchurch on November 27. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 3:30 AM IST.

India is currently at fifth place in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025–27 standings with a points percentage (PCT) of 51.52 and need to win all of their remaining games in the cycle if they are to enter the final, to be played from June 9-13 at The Oval.

India’s Test squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vc), Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant (wk, subject to fitness), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna (subject to fitness), Akash Deep, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj

–IANS

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