Bumrah Named Vice-Captain as India Announce Squad for Upcoming Test Series Against New Zealand

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India's 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against New Zealand on Friday. Rohit Sharma will continue leading the side, but there was a surprise change as pacer Jasprit Bumrah was named the vice-captain for the tour.

Bumrah's appointment as vice-captain is significant since Rohit might miss the first Test in Australia next month due to personal reasons. His leadership abilities were seen before when he captained India in a Test against England last year. The seasoned pacer is now primed to steer the side if Rohit is unavailable at any point during the grueling tours of New Zealand and Australia.

Young batsmen like Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul were hopeful of making the squad. However, they miss out this time while Mayank Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy received their maiden Test call-ups after impressive displays in T20Is against Bangladesh. Yash Dayal would have been in the mix as well but misses out due to injury.

Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Mayank and Nitish were added to the four-man reserve list. The selectors have opted for a 15-member squad with the five-Test series in Australia beginning later this year in mind. India will eye positive results in New Zealand before gearing up for the big challenge Down Under.