Rohit Sharma has been ruled out from the remainder of the New Zealand tour due to a calf strain and Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill have made their way to the Test squad for upcoming series.
Rohit Sharma was captaining his side during the final T20I against New Zealand as the regular captain Virat Kohli decided to take rest. Rohit Sharma while batting felt uncomfortable in the 17th over and had to leave field with his individual score on 60*. He further was not able to take field during the Kiwi innings. KL Rahul was given the responsibility to lead India in the second part of the game. The scans suggested that Rohit Sharma suffered a calf strain and eventually he was ruled of the remainder of the tour.
Prithvi Shaw has been included in the 16-member Test team and Mayank Agarwal has been named the replacement of Rohit Sharma in the ODI squad. As Rohit Sharma will not be a part of the team, Agarwal will be paired either with Shubman Gill or Prithvi Shaw. Gill has recently smashed 83 and unbeaten 204 for India A in the first four-day game against New Zealand which definitely means he might get some preference. For Shaw, his form in the limited-overs in the one-day leg of India A has been impressive as well. Shaw has made a comeback to the international squad after his series of injury and suspension saga.
The squad features Ishant Sharma but his participation will be subject to a fitness clearance. Kuldeep Yadav is not a part of the team as Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been picked as the frontline spinners. The first Test will begin in Wellington on February 21 and the second one will be played in Christchurch from February 29.
Squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Ishant Sharma (subject to fitness clearance).