India vs New Zealand 2nd Test: India are trailing 0-1 in the three-match Test series as they head to Pune for the second Test against New Zealand where the Kiwis won the toss and elected to bat first. However, what did surprise a section of the fans and experts alike was the fact that India made three changes to their Playing 11.
While most were expecting Shubman Gill to return to the scheme of things with KL Rahul making way for him especially after Sarfaraz Khan slammed a hundred, the hosts opted to replace Mohammed Siraj with Akash Deep and brought in Washington Sundar in place of Kuldeep Yadav.
Why Is Mohammed Siraj Not Playing IND vs NZ 2nd Test?
The team management's decision to drop Siraj comes amid his slump in form. Siraj's recent numbers have not been impressive in red-ball cricket.
He registered figures of 0/28 vs England in Hyderabad, 0/22 vs England in Hyderabad, 4/84 vs England in Rajkot, 0/16 vs England in Rajkot, 2/78 vs England in Ranchi, 0/16 vs England in Ranchi, 0/24 vs England in Dharamshala, 0/8 vs England in Dharamshala, 2/30 vs Bangladesh in Chennai, 0/32 vs Bangladesh in Chennai, 2/57 vs Bangladesh in Kanpur, 0/19 vs Bangladesh in Kanpur, 2/84 vs New Zealand in Bengaluru and 0/16 vs New Zealand in Bengaluru in his recent Test outings in the buildup to his ouster from the team.
On the other hand, Akash Deep's reputation has grown given his performance whenever he has got that red ball in his hand. With the Austraia tour coming up, India would like to see who will be their best bet when they take on the Aussies Down Under in a five-match series.
Teams:
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah
New Zealand: Tom Latham (captain), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wicketkeeper), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William ORourke