Rahane to lead India in first Test against Kiwis

Kohli & Rahane
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane celebrate India's win over England in the fourth Test. File photo: AFP

New Delhi: Ajinkya Rahane will lead India in the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur, starting November 25, before regular skipper Virat Kohli returns to take charge in the second and final Test in Mumbai.

Newly appointed T20 captain and regular opener Rohit Sharma, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, and pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami have all been rested as part of the BCCI's workload management policy.

"Virat Kohli will join the squad for the second Test and will lead the team," BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement.

Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer made a comeback in the Test squad along with off-spinner Jayant Yadav.

The Test series will be preceded by a three-match T20 series.

Squad: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), K L Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara (vice-capt), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), K S Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

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