IND vs NZ: Shubman Gill misses Bengaluru Test, KL Rahul expected to bat at No.3

Shubman Gill hasn't recovered from neck stiffness and will miss the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand. KL Rahul is expected to take Gill's slot as the No.3 batter for India at the Chinnaswamy stadium.

In Short

• Gill has scored 782 runs in 12 matches at No.3
• Gill has been replaced by Sarfaraz Khan
• India win toss and opt to bat in Bengaluru

India will be without the services of Shubman Gill for the Bengaluru Test as the star batter isn't fully fit to make it to the playing XI on October 17, Thursday. Gill has been replaced by Sarfaraz Khan in the team with KL Rahul expected to bat at the No.3 spot.

Since coming into the No.3 spot replacing Cheteshwar Pujara, the 25-year-old has performed well. Gill has scored 782 runs in 12 matches batting at No.3 at an average of 43.44. The 25-year-old has scored 3 hundreds and 2 fifties during this time as well.

However, neck stiffness has ruled out Gill for the first Test.

"Update: Shubman Gill was unavailable for selection of the first Test due to a neck stiffness," read the statement from BCCI.

India had won the toss on the day and made 2 changes in total, including the Sarfaraz-Gill swap. India have opted to bring in Kuldeep Yadav into the side for Akash Deep.

India vs New Zealand: Playing XIs

New Zealand (Playing XI): Tom Latham(c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Glenn Phillips, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William ORourke

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj