Revealed: Why KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav are not playing today's match vs New Zealand and who have replaced them?

The Indian national cricket team is currently taking on the New Zealand national cricket team in the second Test of the ongoing three-match series at home. Rohit Sharma's side revamped their lineup by making three changes following the shocking eight-wicket loss during the series opener in Bengaluru.

On Thursday, October 24, the Black Caps skipper won the toss and opted to bowl first at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. The visiting team made one forced change for the second Test match. Matt Henry missed out with a glute niggle and Mitchell Santner replaced him in the XI.

Mohammed Siraj and KL Rahul Among Three Tactical Changes to XI for Pune Test

On the other hand, the hosts made three tactical changes to their lineup. Shubman Gill returned to the playing XI after missing the opening match. Sarfaraz Khan retained his place with an impressive 150 runs in the second innings. Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav failed to make the cut to the team.

Siraj managed to take only two wickets in the Bengaluru Test. He has taken 12 wickets at a disappointing average of 42.83 in seven home Tests this year. His best recent performance was 4/84 against England in Rajkot. Overall, Siraj has taken 80 wickets in 30 Test matches at an average of 30.43.

Washington Sundar was included in the playing XI after his impressive performances in the recent Ranji Trophy match. He scored 152 runs and picked up two wickets against Delhi in the game. The team management showed faith in Sundar over Kuldeep Yadav for the Pune Test match in the series.

We Take A Lot Of Positives From That - Rohit Sharma

Speaking at the toss, Rohit Sharma said that India would have opted to bat as well. Sharma recalled how the team bounced back in the second innings of the previous Test match. However, the Indian skipper didn't reveal the exact reason behind three changes from their line-up.

"Would've batted as well. When you play a Test match like that, the first session didn't go our way. But we batted well in the second innings. We take a lot of positives from that and see how we can turn things around here," Rohit said after losing the toss, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

"Always want to find ways to get back into the Test match when you're behind. That's what we did. The pitch is a little drier, yes. We do understand how important the first 10 overs are. Three changes - Siraj, KL, and Kuldeep miss out. Akash Deep, Washington, and Gill come in," he added.

Team India Playing XI:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah

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