14 Jan 2023

Sharma and Kohli named to take on Black Caps

7:35 am on 14 January 2023

Indian captain Rohit Sharma and batsman Virat Kohli will play in a one-day international series against New Zealand this month but will not feature in the following Twenty20 series.

India's Virat Kohli is bowled no a free-hit ball during the ICC men's Twenty20 World Cup 2022 cricket match between India and Pakistan at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne on October 23, 2022. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE --

Virat Kohli Photo: MARTIN KEEP

India will play three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches against New Zealand from Jan. 18, with Hardik Pandya again leading the side in the T20s while Rohit is captain for the 50-over games.

Pandya is continuing as captain for a third straight series, after leading India to wins over New Zealand in November and Sri Lanka this month.

KL Rahul and Axar Patel will miss both the T20 and ODI series due to family commitments.

The BCCI also announced the squad for the first two games of a four-test series against Australia beginning on Feb. 9.

Rohit, who missed India's series win over Bangladesh in December due to a thumb injury, returns to the test squad as captain.

Batters Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, who have represented India in shorter formats, could make their test debuts against Australia after being named in the squad.

Jasprit Bumrah, who has been struggling with a back injury, and Rishabh Pant, who suffered multiple injuries in a car crash last month, were not included in the squad.

Ravindra Jadeja's inclusion in the test squad is subject to fitness.

SQUAD FOR NEW ZEALAND ODIS

Rohit Sharma (capt.), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik.

SQUAD FOR NEW ZEALAND T20s

Hardik Pandya (capt.), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Prithvi Shaw, Mukesh Kumar.

SQUAD FOR FIRST TWO AUSTRALIA TESTS

Rohit Sharma (capt.), KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.

-Reuters