Opener KL Rahul has been ruled out of the upcoming Test series against New Zealand due to an injury, the BCCI confirmed on Tuesday (November 23). India have made a late addition to their Test squad as a result by picking Suryakumar Yadav just two days ahead of the first Test in Kanpur.In the absence of Rahul - Rohit Sharma has been rested for the series - Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal will be the likely opening pair for India.
Along with Rohit, Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, as well as regular Test captain Virat Kohli, have been rested, though Kohli will return to lead the side for the second Test, in Mumbai. Suryakumar, who has become a regular in India's T20I side, has been a key player for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. In the most recent first-class season, in 2019-20, Suryakumar tallied 508 runs in ten innings at an average of 56.44 and strike rate of 95.13, with two hundreds and two fifties. Of the 77 first-class matches he has played, 71 have been in the Ranji competition.
