India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will act as deputy to Rohit Sharma for their three-match home test series against New Zealand starting next week, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said as they announced a 15-member squad.

Bowlers Mohammed Shami and Yash Dayal are the notable absentees in the spin-heavy squad announced late on Friday, which includes Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.

Shami continues to be out as he recovers from ankle surgery. The 34-year-old has not played since the 2023 World Cup, but India’s pace attack will be led by Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

The series begins in Bengaluru on Oct. 16, followed by tests in Pune and Mumbai.

INDIA SQUAD

Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep.

Travelling Reserves: Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna.

(Reuters)