The BCCI on Friday announce Team India’s 15-man squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against New Zealand, starting October 16 in Bengaluru. While Rohit Sharma will continue to lead the team, ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah was named his deputy for the three-match rubber. Bumrah’s elevation as vice-captain comes just a day after a report emerged that Rohit could miss one of the first two Tests against Australia due to personal reasons. The Indian team will play a five-Test series in Australia, starting November 22 in Perth, and there is a possibility that Rohit could give either the first or the second game in Adelaide (December 6-10) a miss.

The report had claimed that if Rohit does miss a game in Australia at the start, India A skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran is likely to be his cover at the top of the order. Shubman Gill and KL Rahul were the other candidates to open the batting for India in his absence. 

However, the report did not clarify as to who the vice-captain of the Test team will be as there was no official deputy for Rohit during the recent home series against Bangladesh, which India won 2-0.

“There isn’t any complete clarity about the situation. It is understood that Rohit has intimated to the BCCI that there is a possibility that due to a pressing personal matter, he might have to skip one of the two Tests at the beginning of the series,” a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Bumrah has led India in the past, including a Test in England which was rescheduled. However, India had lost the game, allowing England to draw the series. His elevation is a clear indication that the ace pacer could lead India in a game against Australia if Rohit does miss a Test at the start of the tour.

Unlike the Bangladesh series, which was a two-game rubber, India have added four players in the reserves list. Having made their debuts in the T20I series against Bangladesh, pacer Mayank Yadav and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy have been added to the four-man list. Uncappped pacer Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna are the other reserves in the list.

(With PTI Inputs)