NEW DELHI: India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been named vice-captain for the upcoming three-Test series against New Zealand starting October 16 in Bengaluru.
The move indicates Bumrah’s potential promotion to a leadership role when the team heads to Australia next month after reports emerged that Rohit could miss one of the first two Test matches Down Under owing to personal reasons.
India did not appoint a designated vice-captain for their recent Test series against Bangladesh, but Bumrah has previously held the role. He served as vice-captain during the two-Test home series against Sri Lanka in March 2022.
Bumrah later reprised the position in the two-Test tour of South Africa in 2023-24, as well as the five-Test series against England earlier this year.
Additionally, he captained India once in the one-off Test against England in 2022, stepping in for Rohit Sharma, who was sidelined after testing positive for Covid-19.
The entire squad that was picked for Bangladesh Tests at home was retained barring left-arm pacer Yash Dayal.
Mohammed Shami remains absent as he continues his recovery from injury. Shami, who has not played for India since the World Cup final against Australia in November last year, is still sidelined and yet to make his return to the team.
The second Test of the series will take place in Pune starting October 24, while the third Test will be held in Mumbai from November 1.
Pace sensation Mayank Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna were named as travelling reserves.
Recently, Bumrah reclaimed his No. 1 spot in the ICC bowlers’ rankings after a standout performance against Bangladesh.
The 30-year-old has been in sensational form in red-ball cricket, taking 42 wickets from eight Tests since his comeback from injury in August 2023, with an impressive average of 14.69 during this period.
Overall, Bumrah has featured in 38 Tests, claiming 170 wickets at an average of 20.18, including 10 five-wicket hauls.
India’s squad for the three Tests against New Zealand: 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
