BENGALURU: India has suffered a blow ahead of the first Test against New Zealand, with star batsman Shubman Gill ruled out due to injury. Sarfaraz Khan is expected to step into the playing XI as his replacement. Khan has been in exceptional form recently, having scored a double century in the Irani Trophy final. He made his international debut earlier this year against England, where he impressed but despite being included in the squad for the Test series against Bangladesh, he did not get a chance to play.

New Zealand will play three Tests in India, with the first match set to take place at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The remaining two matches will be held in Pune and Mumbai. This series is critical for India, as they aim to solidify their position at the top of the World Test Championship points table and secure a spot in their third consecutive final. India has been in red-hot form, winning 17 consecutive home Test series and most recently clinching a 2-0 series victory over Bangladesh.

In contrast, New Zealand's recent form has been underwhelming. The Kiwis are coming off a 2-0 series defeat against Sri Lanka, a result that led to Tim Southee stepping down as captain. Tom Latham will lead the side in India.

This will be India’s final home series of the season. After the three Tests against New Zealand, they will travel to Australia for the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which will feature five Tests.

India’s Test squad for the New Zealand series

Rohit Sharma (captain), Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, Akash Deep.

Traveling reserves: Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.