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Virat Kohli to rest for the first New Zealand Test, Rohit to lead in T20Is: Reports

Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli will be taking a rest in the upcoming three-match T20I series against New Zealand starting November 17 at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur. He would also not be part of the Kanpur Test which would be played in Green Park from November 25 and would only join the side in the second Test scheduled to start from December 3 in Wankhede. 

Meanwhile reports also suggest that Rohit Sharma, the current Indian vice-captain for white-ball cricket, will lead the T20I team in the three-match series with most of the players, who were part of the T20 World Cup squad. But certain inclusions and exclusions to counter the bio-bubble fatigue are likely to be made. 

While KL Rahul is likely to get the vice-captaincy in the shortest format, Ajinkya Rahane will lead the team in the first Test. The two Tests are part of the World Test Championship and mark the beginning of New Zealand’s title defence. 

Varun Chakravarthy is likely to get an axe while Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami might be rested for the T20Is to remain fresh for the Test series. Thus Harshal Patel and Kartik Tyagi along with Arshdeep Singh might come into the reckoning. 

The decision on Virat Kohli’s captaincy in the 50-over format will not be taken now as ODI has no relevance as of now and it will be confirmed after the announcement of India’s squad to South Africa, a series scheduled in December.

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WBBL 2021 | Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma fail as Thunder record sixth loss in nine games

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T20 World Cup | Gary Stead wary of England challenge; hopes to put up good fight in semi-finals

Speaking ahead of their much-awaited semi-final clash in the T20 World Cup, Gary Stead has said that New Zealand are very much looking forward to the England challenge once again in an ICC tournament. “We're looking forward to playing England again and being I guess a one-off game, where anything can happen," ESPNcricinfo quoted Stead speaking ahead of the game. New Zealand were on the wrong side of a heartbreaking game in the 2019 ODI World Cup final where they lost an exceptional match. “I think the guys are looking forward to the prospect of facing England again. As I said, they're a quality side and yes, we just look forward to the challenge of playing the best side as well. So, I'm not sure there will be anything from the 2019 game that will come into it...maybe a Super Over it might,” joked Stead. New Zealand have won 4 out of their 5 matches going into the semi final clash and have beaten heavyweights like India in convincing fashion. However, many have doubts on the quality the Kiwis possess as a T20I side and have shared their reservations for the same. Gary Stead, on the other hand, is confident of the group that the Blackcaps have at their disposal and stated that they are going to give it a good - a key feature of their game. “It's a pretty experienced group of guys now who know each other's games very, very well and know the skills of each other. As a collective group, we do fight and fight hard. That's all I keep asking for. The results, at the end of the day, will look after themselves if we do those little things well.” New Zealand face England in the first of the two semi-finals of the 2021 T20 World Cup at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on 10 November, Wednesday.

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Covid-19 forces PNG Women to pull out from ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers

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