Rohit Sharma to skip entire NZ Test series, Kohli opts out of 1st game; new support staff checks in
New Delhi, Nov 11: India's newly-appointed T20 captain Rohit Sharma is set to be rested from the two-match Test series against New Zealand while Virat Kohli will miss the opening match as a "mentally and physically exhausted" Team India gets down to workload management during the home assignment.
Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane will lead the side in the opening Test in Kanpur as Kohli extends his break after opting out of the three-match T20 series starting November 17 in Jaipur.
It is learnt from a reliable BCCI source that the squad has been finalised after a meeting of the selection committee on Thursday but a formal announcement is still awaited.
Other bigwigs who will sit out both the Tests, to be held in Kanpur and Mumbai, are wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, and the pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.
Rohit will take this break after leading the team in the T20 series. The Tests are scheduled to start on November 25 in Kanpur.
Kohli will be back for the second game in Mumbai from December 3. The Indian Test and ODI captain has spoken extensively about the bubble fatigue and how it has been taking a toll on the players mentally.
In Pant's absence, Wriddhiman Saha will take over the wicket-keeping duties with KS Bharath acting as the second keeper for the series.
The 28-year-old Bharath, who hails from Andhra Pradesh, has only played in the IPL, signed up by Royal Challengers Bangalore, this year.
He was among the five standby players for the home Test series against England this year.
The rest of the squad comprises the usual suspects with Test regulars like Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara and Mayank Agarwal expectedly finding their way in.
New support staff checks in:
As was expected, Paras Mhambrey will join the team as the new bowling coach replacing Bharat Arun, whose tenure ended with India's campaign in the T20 World Cup.
Arun and head coach Ravi Shastri's stint came to a halt with the team's last group stage match against Namibia.
Mhambrey is close to new head coach Rahul Dravid and was part of the support staff during a second-string India's tour of Sri Lanka in July this year where Dravid served as head coach.
Vikram Rathour has been retained as the batting coach after he reapplied for the position, while T Dilip is the new fielding coach.
Dravid, it is learnt, wanted Abhay Sharma to be the fielding coach but the Cricket Advisory Committee has gone with Dilip, who had travelled with the Indian team during the July tour of Sri Lanka.
The 39-year-old was the fielding coach of the Hyderabad team and has also worked with the India A side in the past.
Likely squad for Test series against New Zealand:
Ajinkya Rahane (captain), K L Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, KS bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja.
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India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
