Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli
Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli. Image-Twitter

India opener Rohit Sharma has also sought rest from the first Test against New Zealand after skipper Virat Kohli had been rested from the 3-match T20I series and the first Test.

In that case, Ajinkya Rahane, the current vice-captain who led the side in Kohli’s absence in Australia, will lead the team against the Black Caps.

A report in Times Of India has revealed that the selectors decided on Thursday to give some rest to Rohit Sharma, who has been appointed as the new T20I captain.

The selectors have given recovery time to Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja from the T20I series with Kohli’s seeking rest from the first Test as well.

Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma. Image Source: Twitter

With Ajinkya Rahane struggling for form, it was also discussed to appoint Rohit Sharma the Test captain in the first Test, but after a thorough analysis of the opener’s workload, it was decided that he should be given rest as well.

Rishabh Pant, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrh and Shardul Thakur are also in line to be rested for the Test series, the TOI report added.

The players have been on road since June, when they toured England for the Test matches. They then spent about two months in the UAE for the second half of IPL 2021 and the T20 World Cup.

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This would mean that Wriddhiman Saha will be back in the eleven since being dropped in Adelaide last year. Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav will be making their comebacks while Hanuma Vihari will be in line to be in the playing XI. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will continue to lead the spin-bowling attack. Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal will fight out to be KL Rahul’s opening partner.

Before the two Test matches, which will be played in Kanpur (November 25-29) and Mumbai (December 3-7), the three T20Is New Zealand will be played in Jaipur (November 17), Ranchi (November 19) and Kolkata (November 21).

Ajinkya Rahane And Virat Kohli
Ajinkya Rahane And Virat Kohli (Image Credit: Twitter)

India’s squad for New Zealand T20Is:

Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (vc), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj.

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