The selection panel has decided to give rest to some key players for the upcoming series against New Zealand. Rohit Sharma, who was recently appointed as the T20 skipper of the side, will also miss the test series.
Along with Rohit, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and Mohammad Shami will also not feature in the test series. The pacers duo of Bumrah and Shami are alreay out of the T20 series too. The main objective of resting players is providing breaks to prevent the players from workload impact and bubble fatigue.
In the absence of Kohli and Rohit, Ajinkya Rahane, the incumbent vice-captain in the Test format, will lead India in the first Test in Kanpur, from November 25-29.