India have made a big selection call five days before the first Test against New Zealand, dropping left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav from the Test squad and adding Punjab pacer Gurnoor Brar. The BCCI confirmed the change on Saturday, November 14, saying Brar would join the 16-man squad for the two-Test series starting on November 19 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, while Kuldeep would be released to play domestic cricket back home.
Brar’s call-up is a reward for a breakout ODI series. The young seamer has taken nine wickets in three ODIs on the tour, including 4 for 30 in India’s four-run win in the second ODI in Wellington and 2 for 69 in Friday’s fourth ODI at Bay Oval. He has bowled with pace and heart in a new-look attack missing Jasprit Bumrah, and the selectors have now fast-tracked him into the red-ball squad ahead of a series where seam bowling is expected to decide both Tests.
Kuldeep’s tour, by contrast, has been a frustrating one. He played just one match so far, the fourth ODI, and went wicketless for 73 runs in eight overs as New Zealand piled up 333. With Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep and Anshul Kamboj already in the Test squad, India now have six frontline quicks plus seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, and the spin duties will fall to Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. The call underlines how India expect the Basin Reserve and Hagley Oval surfaces to behave, and it leaves Kuldeep to rebuild his case in domestic cricket with Uttar Pradesh.
There was better news for India on the fitness front. Rishabh Pant has joined the Test squad in Wellington and is set to play the first Test after recovering from the side strain that kept him out of the ODI series. Pant was cleared at the Centre of Excellence earlier this week after two simulation tests, and his return gives India their first-choice keeper-batter back for a series they must win to stay in the World Test Championship final race.
The two-Test series begins on November 19 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, with the second Test in Christchurch from November 27. New Zealand have named a 14-man squad for the series, with Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway and Tom Blundell all aiming to be fit for the opener after shoulder, concussion and quadriceps problems respectively, and the hosts will be buoyed by Friday’s 244-run win. India, meanwhile, arrive at the Tests with a bowling group reshaped around pace, and Brar’s promotion from the ODI squad to the Test squad in the space of a day shows how quickly the selectors are willing to reward form on this tour.
India’s updated Test squad: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vc), Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Gurnoor Brar.
Brar will link up with the Test squad immediately, which means he will miss Sunday’s fifth ODI at Bay Oval, and the BCCI confirmed there will be no replacement for the final one-dayer. That leaves stand-in captain Shreyas Iyer choosing between Siraj, who is yet to play in the ODI series, and uncapped Yash Thakur for the decider, with both possibly playing together if Kuldeep is benched after his expensive outing on Friday.
Related:
Rishabh Pant Cleared Fit, Set to Fly to New Zealand Within 24 Hours for Test Series
Henry’s Career-Best Six-For Powers New Zealand to Record 244-Run Win Over India in Fourth ODI
