Vihari dropped for NZ Tests, to play for India ‘A’

Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer and off-spinner Jayant Yadav found a place in the India Test squad while Hanuma Vihari has been dropped for the two-match home assignment against New Zealand. Vihari will, instead, travel with the India ‘A’ squad for the tour of South Africa, where he will get an opportunity to impress the selectors. Prasidh Krishna will be the fourth pacer, with wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat deputising for Wriddhiman Saha. As was expected, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane will lead India in the first Test.

SQUAD:Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. *Virat Kohli will join the squad for the 2nd Test and captain the team