Bumrah named vice-captain for New Zealand Tests

India have named a strong squad for the three-match ICC World Test Championship series against New Zealand at home.

Jasprit Bumrah will act as deputy to Rohit Sharma with the rest of the squad sporting a familiar look.

From the Test squad that played Bangladesh, left-arm pacer Yash Dayal was the only player missing out with India opting for a trimmed 15-member squad.

A spin-heavy bowling attack once again includes the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.

Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep make up the bowling attack.

No back-up opener has been named with the batting group similar to the one that was picked for the Bangladesh series. Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel are the wicketkeeping options in the squad.

The series kicks off on October 16 in Bengaluru with following Tests in Pune and Mumbai.

India are on top of the WTC standings while New Zealand, title-winners in 2021, are in sixth position.

India's squad:

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, Akash Deep