The BCCI named a 16-man squad for the two-Test series in New Zealand on October 16, and one name towers over the rest: Jasprit Bumrah is back in whites. He has played zero Tests in 2026 — his last was on India’s South Africa tour in late 2025. Shubman Gill stays captain, KL Rahul is his deputy, and Rishabh Pant’s place hangs on a final fitness clearance.
Updated: October 18, 2026, 10:40 AM IST
Quick Read
- Jasprit Bumrah returns to India’s Test squad after a year out; his last Test was on the South Africa tour in late 2025.
- Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akash Deep and B Sai Sudharsan are back in; Sarfaraz Khan, Auqib Nabi and three others are out.
- Rishabh Pant (side strain) and Prasidh Krishna (hamstring) were picked subject to fitness clearance. The 1st Test starts November 19 in Wellington.
The Bumrah question, answered
All year, one question has followed this Test team: where is Jasprit Bumrah? Now there’s an answer. The pace spearhead — India’s most feared bowler in whites — is back in the squad for New Zealand, ending an absence that stretched through the entire 2026 home season.
What happened in his absence is part of the story. When Bumrah sat out, the Jammu and Kashmir seamer Auqib Nabi stepped in against Sri Lanka — and then got dropped for this tour anyway, despite taking 60 wickets in the last Ranji Trophy season, per the Hindustan Times. That tells you how the selectors think: Bumrah’s slot was always his to reclaim. Whether he walks straight back into the XI in Wellington is a different question, and the team management will take its time on it.
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Who’s in, who’s out
Beyond Bumrah, the squad has a clear shape. Returning: Washington Sundar, who missed the Sri Lanka Tests with a hamstring injury; Nitish Kumar Reddy; Akash Deep, back after a lower-back injury kept him out since the IPL; and B Sai Sudharsan, who is over the toe injury that sidelined him.
Going out: Sarfaraz Khan, Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi and Gurnoor Brar. Anshul Kamboj holds his place — his only other Test was on the 2025 England tour, so this is a big vote of confidence in a young quick.
The full squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant (subject to fitness), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna (subject to fitness), Akash Deep, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj. (Squad list per the BCCI announcement, reported by CricTracker and the Hindustan Times on October 16.)
The fitness asterisks
Two names carry a small star next to them. Rishabh Pant picked up a side strain during the Irani Cup in Srinagar and needs the BCCI medical team’s clearance before he can play. If he doesn’t make it in time, Dhruv Jurel is named as the second wicketkeeper and steps straight in. Prasidh Krishna’s problem is a left hamstring, picked up in the ODI against West Indies in Guwahati. His selection — for the Tests and the first three ODIs — is conditional too.
This is worth watching because New Zealand in late November is no place for a half-fit fast bowler. Cold air, green pitches, long spells. The medical team won’t take chances.
Why Bumrah in New Zealand is a scary thought — for them
New Zealand’s pitches are famous for swing and seam movement. That’s Bumrah’s home turf, stylistically. His awkward action, the late swing, the yorker that arrives a fraction earlier than the batter expects — on a Wellington green top, that is a handful. India hasn’t had its best new-ball weapon available all year; getting him back for exactly the conditions that suit him most is the kind of luck teams dream about.
There’s a bigger frame too. Every Test now feeds the World Test Championship race. India can’t afford to treat this as a development tour — though with Kamboj, Reddy and Sudharsan in the mix, it doubles as one. Bumrah’s return lets the team do both: win now, blood youth around him.
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The schedule — and a captain doing his homework
The tour is a long one. It starts with five ODIs — the series was expanded from three because of the drawing power of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and the Hindustan Times notes this is likely their last tour of New Zealand. Then the red-ball leg: 1st Test at Basin Reserve, Wellington, November 19–23; 2nd Test at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, November 27 to December 1.
Gill, for his part, isn’t resting on the captaincy. He is expected to turn out for Punjab’s Ranji Trophy match against Chhattisgarh in Mullanpur starting October 18 — today — to get red-ball overs under his belt before flying out. A captain going back to domestic cricket for match practice days after being named: that tells you how seriously this tour is being taken.
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FAQs
When did Bumrah last play a Test?
On India’s tour of South Africa in late 2025. He played zero Tests through 2026 before this recall, per CricTracker.
Why is Pant’s selection conditional?
He suffered a side strain during the Irani Cup match in Srinagar. He needs clearance from the BCCI medical team; Dhruv Jurel is the backup wicketkeeper if Pant isn’t fit in time.
Who missed out on the squad?
Sarfaraz Khan, Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi and Gurnoor Brar were all left out. Nabi’s omission stands out — he filled in for Bumrah against Sri Lanka and took 60 wickets in the last Ranji season, per the Hindustan Times.
