Pujara leaves Sundar, Sudharsan and Akash Deep out of his New Zealand Test XI
Cheteshwar Pujara's predicted Wellington XI excludes Washington Sundar despite his strong record against New Zealand.
Cheteshwar Pujara has left Washington Sundar, Sai Sudharsan and Akash Deep out of his predicted India XI for the first Test against New Zealand in Wellington. He chose four specialist pacers and one spinner in the line-up.
Pujara's XI reads: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. He gave the new ball to Jaiswal and Rahul and kept Jadeja as the lone specialist spinner.
The first Test begins on November 19 at Basin Reserve. Pant's inclusion remains subject to fitness clearance. Sundar was India's best bowler in the previous Test series against New Zealand.
CricHubb Take
Pujara's call shows he values proven overseas experience over domestic form; selectors may see it differently when they name the final squad.