Bumrah named vice-captain for India's upcoming three-match Test series against New Zealand

New Delhi: Ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah was on Friday named vice-captain of India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against New Zealand, starting in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

The move could indicate that Bumrah is being groomed to lead the team in Rohit Sharma’s absence, as there was no designated vice-captain during the recent two-match Test series against Bangladesh.

The squad has been reduced to 15, with uncapped left-arm pacer Yash Dayal, who was part of the Bangladesh Test series, missing out after sustaining a shoulder injury during Uttar Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy match against Bengal in Lucknow.

Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna were named as travelling reserves.

India’s squad for the New Zealand Test series: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep.