Cheteshwar Pujara selects predicted India XI for New Zealand Test

Former cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara has selected his predicted playing XI for India’s upcoming first Test against New Zealand, scheduled to begin on November 19 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.

Pujara’s lineup features KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal as openers, with Devdutt Padikkal at number three and captain Shubman Gill at number four. The selection includes two wicketkeeper-batters, Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel, occupying the five and six positions. The all-rounders selected are Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy, while the pace attack consists of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.

Notably, Pujara’s selection excludes Washington Sundar, Sai Sudharsan, and Akash Deep, despite Sundar being a key performer in previous series. This proposed XI includes two changes from the lineup used in India’s last Test series against Sri Lanka, replacing Saransh Jain with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Manav Suthar with Jasprit Bumrah.