Harshit Rana Added To Squad For 3rd New Zealand Test? India Assistant Coach Clears Air

31.10.2024 - 07:15 sports.ndtv.com

India have not added any extra player to their squad ahead of the third Test against New Zealand and also does not have any plans of resting pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah before the upcoming long five-Test series against Australia Down Under starting in November.

Amid reports that the team management had called up Harshit Rana to train and bowl for the team ahead of the third Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium, there was expectation that Rana could be added to the squad just like Washington Sundar was called up just before the second Test in Pune as the Delhi medium pacer is one of the bowlers picked in the Australia tour squad.

But on Wednesday, India's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar clarified that not extra player has been added to squad while also confirming that they have no plans of resting Bumrah despite it being an inconsequential Test as New Zealand has already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

There has been concerns regarding the workload of Indian pacers in the last few years as many of them have broken down even during a series.

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Unexpectedly fallen behind 0-2 in a home series, the Indian team has adopted some desperate measures to improve its batters' outing against spot-on New Zealand bowlers, especially the spinners, as talks about a rank-turner for the third Test here has dominated the pre-match talks. The net session at the Wankhede Stadium reflected the state of urgency the team management is in ahead of the final Test beginning on Friday, as even veteran batters like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have found the going tough in this rubber.

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