Rahane to lead India in first New Zealand Test

Kohli, whose tenure as T20I captain came to an end at the conclusion of India’s ICC T20 World Cup campaign, is also sitting out the preceding three-match T20 series against the same opponents.

Cheteshwar Pujara will serve as Rahane’s vice-captain in the match, with Rohit Sharma not named in the squad for the two-Test series.

Sharma is one of a handful of notable absentees, with Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami also missing from the 16-man group.

The two-match series, a part of the current cycle of the ICC World Test Championship, will be played in Kanpur (25-29 November) and Mumbai (3-7 December).

Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna