India’s top-order set for rejig as Rohit, Shubman to miss first Test
With three days remaining for the opening Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth, the Indian think tank led by head coach Gautam Gambhir has been challenged on several fronts.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Thursday confirmed that uncapped seamer Harshit Rana will not take part in the upcoming third Test match against New Zealand in Mumbai.
According to a report by ESPN on Tuesday, Harshit Rana was added to the India squad for the third Test match against New Zealand. However, India’s coach cleared the rumours ahead of the third Test.
Harsit Rana has been with India’s white-ball teams ever since a breakout Indian Premier League (IPL) season in 2024 with champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), in which the pacer took 19 wickets at an average of 20.15 in 13 matches.
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Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Gambhir said that Rana has not been included in the Test squad. The India head coach added that the 22-year-old has come to Mumbai to work with bowling coach Morne Morkel and prepare for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar trophy.
He added that the team management wants to use this time and make Rana prepared for the BGT.
“I don’t know where you are getting this news from. He is not included in the squad. He has just come here to work with Morne. So that he is prepared for Australia. We want to use this time,” Gambhir said.
The third Test is set to begin at Wankhede, Mumbai, on Friday, the same venue where New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel famously claimed 10 wickets in an innings.
India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Dhruv Jurel, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
New Zealand Squad: Tom Latham (C), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (WK), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William O’Rourke, Kane Williamson, Ish Sodhi, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry.
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