India A and New Zealand A will play 3 red-ball games before the two Tests, 5 ODIs and 5 T20Is series.
The Indian men’s cricket team will travel to New Zealand later this month for five T20Is, five ODIs, and two Tests, and in addition to that, India A will also travel to New Zealand for three unofficial Tests from October 24 to November 10.
A report in the Times of India has stated that Bumrah will play at least one of the three red-ball games in New Zealand as part of his preparations for the Test series. Bumrah’s last red-ball appearance for India came against South Africa at home in November last year.
The report also stated that Test specialists KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant, and Sai Sudharsan will play at least one unofficial Test for India A in New Zealand.
Also, KL Rahul is set to play only the first game for India A at Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, because he is the first-choice keeper in India’s ODI team as well. On the other hand, Padikkal, Pant, and Sudharsan could be picked for all three matches.
As per the TOI report, the wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan is expected to return to the Indian Test side following his excellent performances in T20Is and ODIs for India after his comeback in the international game this year.
Ishan has featured in two Tests for India against the West Indies in July 2023, but he was not picked for the series at home against England in the first quarter of 2024. Dhruv Jurel soon came into the reckoning as the number two wicket-keeper batter for India in the five-day game.
The selection committee of BCCI is supposed to hold its meeting soon to announce India’s squads for the Test, ODIs, T20Is, and “A” series in New Zealand. As the red-ball series between India A and New Zealand A will clash with the other two series, India’s best white-ball players won’t be available for the same.
(Times of India report)