India announce squads for New Zealand series and first Two Tests against Australia

Suryakumar Yadav has been included in Tests [Source: Twitter]

In a significant development, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has announced separate squads for the white-ball series against New Zealand and the first two Tests against Australia. 

Regarded as a T20 specialist, Suryakumar Yadav has received his maiden call-up to the Test squad. Also, Ishan Kishan has been rewarded with the second keeper-batter's spot in the Test squad. 

KS Bharat will likely play as the first-choice keeper in the Australia series. Bharat has also been included in the ODI squad for the New Zealand series. 

In another major development, veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has made his comeback for the Australia Tests. However, his participation in the series will be subjective to his fitness. 

As expected, ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah hasn't made it into any of the announced squads. So, he will miss not only the New Zealand series but also the first two Tests against Australia. 

And most importantly, dynamic batter Prithvi Shaw has been recalled into the T20I setup. Shaw recently grabbed million eyeballs, slamming a sensational triple ton against Assam in the Ranji Trophy 2022-23. 

Meanwhile, Punjab Kings batter Jitesh Sharma has been picked as the second keeper in the T20I squad. On the other hand, veteran batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma haven't been selected for the New Zealand T20Is. 

KL Rahul and Axar Patel were unavailable for the New Zealand Home series due to family commitments.

India’s squad for first 2 Tests vs Australia:

Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, C Pujara, V Kohli, S Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav

India’s squad for NZ ODIs: 

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik

India’s squad for NZ T20Is: 

Hardik Pandya (C), Suryakumar Yadav (vc), Ishan Kishan (wk), R Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Y Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Prithvi Shaw, Mukesh Kumar

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