IND vs NZ: Why is Shubman Gill not playing 1st test against New Zealand in Bengaluru?

Sarfaraz Khan has been picked in India’s XI for the 1st IND vs NZ test instead of Shubman Gill.

The Indian cricket team’s home season resumed on Thursday, October 17, with the first test match of the three-test series against New Zealand.

After thrashing Bangladesh 2-0 in the test series and 3-0 in T20Is, the Asian giants are now hosting the Black Caps for a three-match test series, with the first test being played at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

The first day of the Bengaluru test, October 16, was washed out completely due to persistent rain throughout the day. But day 2 began on time, with the toss and the scheduled start being pulled 15 minutes earlier than regular time.

India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first. Rohit announced two changes to India’s playing XI: Shubman Gill and Akash Deep missed out and were replaced by Sarfaraz Khan and Kuldeep Yadav.

IND vs NZ: Why is Shubman Gill not playing in the 1st test against New Zealand in Bengaluru?

The BCCI confirmed that Shubman Gill has neck stiffness and therefore, he missed the first test against New Zealand in Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, Kuldeep has replaced Akash Deep despite the pacer’s impressive performances against Bangladesh as India might be expecting the pitch to get dry once the clouds move away and the cracks open up.

IND vs NZ 1st test playing XIs of both teams:

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

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