India vs New Zealand 2024 Best Test Squad Players List

Revealed: India vs New Zealand 2024 Best Test Squad Players List

October 5, 2024 Abhay Kothari Cricket, Cricket News, India Cricket Team, India vs New Zealand, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Team India, Test Cricket, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal 4 min read

Mohammed Shami still unable for selection in our best India vs New Zealand 2024 Test squad and 16 players list.

It’s been on few days since India registered a 2-0 whitewash against Bangladesh in the Test series, and in only a week’s time, India will be playing New Zealand at home for a 3-match Test series. The New Zealand series will be even more so important for the Indian team as it will be the penultimate series in the current WTC series before India take on Australia for the WTC final decider series.

Team India are currently first in the WTC points table with a PCT of 74%. This is a very healthy PCT %, and India have 7 more matches to better it. Team India next play 3 matches vs New Zealand at home, and 5 matches against Australia, away from home. 5 wins out of 7 will confirm India’s participation in the WTC Final. 4 wins will need a loss from South Africa or two losses from Australia. Whereas anything less than 4 will open the table completely.

New Zealand in general aren’t a strong opponent for India at home. Out of 36 Test matches that India and New Zealand have played in India, India have won 17 matches, and lost just 2. Anyway, defeating India at home is a humongous task, and New Zealand will need something extraordinary to do that. But before we get to that, let’s in the meantime look at the best squad that Team India will select for the Test series vs New Zealand.

Table of Contents - Cricgasm

India vs New Zealand 2024 Test Squad Analyzed:

Team India had selected a 16-member squad against Bangladesh. The squad had a few new comers in the form of Akash Deep and Yash Dayal, but the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, and Mohammed Shami, who was injured were missing. Akash Deep played both the Test matches for India, and he did exceptionally well in his debut series. So, will Team India make any changes to the squad for the New Zealand series?

Now, if we observe the squad, the only player, who ideally would have made it to the final squad is Mohammed Shami. Shami is still injured, and has been recovering from the injury for more than 8 months now. Shami missed the IPL and T20 World Cup, and has been out of action for long now. But will he make a comeback against New Zealand? Well, the answer is no. Shami still needs a few more weeks to recover, and that means, he could be eyeing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for a comeback.

No New Players?

So, with Shami still not there, do we expect any more changes in the squad? Well, Ideally there is no reason for India to make any changes, except for injuries. Which ever player played in the final 11 did well for India, and the ones on the outside played a supporting role. That means no additional changes are required. So, expect India to continue investing in the likes of Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Yash Dayal, and Akash Deep.

Overall, India will continue to have Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Virat Kohli among batters. Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel shall lead the wicket-keeping duties. Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin shall remain as the all-rounders. Whereas bowling shall be led by Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Yash Dayal.