Navdeep Saini Set To Earn Maiden Test Call-Up: Report

Navdeep Saini’s fine display in white-ball cricket looks set to pave the way for his bow into Test cricket. After impressing in last year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), the highly-rated pacer made his T20I debut during the tour of West Indies and has kept impressing since then. Last month, he made his ODI debut against the same opposition.

In his most recent series, he scooped the Man of the Series award after helping India beat Sri Lanka 2-0. It would not be very wrong to say that he completely took the spotlight off the other pacers including Jasprit Bumrah as he made life difficult for Sri Lanka’s batsmen with his pace. Navdeep Saini finished the two matches with 5 wickets for just 46 runs and won his first-ever Man of the Series award.

Test team calling:

Navdeep Saini is looking set to be named in the T20I team for the upcoming series against New Zealand and could also be part of the ODI team. And if reports are to be believed then the selectors can also name him in the Test team for the very first time. India will leave for New Zealand later this month for a full-fledged series consisting of five T20Is, three ODIs and three Tests.

According to The Times of India, Navdeep Saini’s inclusion in the Test side looks all the more on the cards since Bhuvneshwar Kumar is out due to sports hernia and Jasprit Bumrah is just returning from a lower back injury. India have won all of their Test matches in the World Test Championship so far and will be keen to maintain that run in New Zealand too.

Among other changes to the Test team, the selectors could recall KL Rahul after his stunning run of form in limited-overs cricket. He is likely to be the backup opener.

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