IND vs NZ: Explained: Why KL Rahul And Axar Patel Are Not Part Of India's Squads

The BCCI, on Friday, announced multiple squads for the white-ball series of New Zealand and for the first two Tests against Australia. However, there were a couple of noticeable misses from the squads that were announced for the ODI and T20I series against New Zealand. Notably, Axar Patel and KL Rahul were not picked in either of the white-ball squads by the BCCI.

Team India is all set to play against New Zealand in a three-match ODI series and a three-match T20I series, after the conclusion of the ODI series against Sri Lanka. The ODI series will commence on January 18 followed by the T20I series. Both, Axar Patel and KL Rahul are a part of the Indian ODI squad that is currently playing against Sri Lanka.

Reason Revealed Behind Axar Patel’s And KL Rahul’s Absence From India Squad for New Zealand Series:

As mentioned, the BCCI, on Friday announced the ODI and T20I squad for the series against New Zealand. While Hardik Pandya will continue to lead team India in the shortest format, Rohit Sharma will be back for the ODIs. There was no clarity given by the BCCI as to why Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli weren’t picked for the T20 squad.

However, the BCCI categorically mentioned the absence of both Axar Patel and KL Rahul. The BCCI, in a tweet, stated, “KL Rahul & Axar Patel were unavailable for the New Zealand Home series due to family commitments”

????: KL Rahul & Axar Patel were unavailable for the New Zealand Home series due to family commitments.#TeamIndia | #INDvNZ

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 13, 2023

The home series against New Zealand will commence on January 18 with the first ODI of the series being played at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad. It will be followed by a couple of ODIs at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur and the Holkar Stadium in Indore respectively.

The T2OI series against the Blackcaps will commence on January 27 with the 3 T20Is being played in Ranchi, Lucknow, and Ahmedabad. The series will be followed by the Border-Gavaskar trophy, for which the Indian squad for the First 2 Tests was also announced on Friday.