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After registering their first-ever Test series defeat against New Zealand at home , the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have reportedly added Delhi pacer, Harshit Rana in the side for the third and final Test of the series, set to be played from November 1 to 5 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Although the hosts have lost the series for the first time in 12 years at home, they are looking to make some amends in their XI.
According to reports quoting The Indian Express, Rana is likely to make his Test debut in the third Test on Friday with the team opting to rest Indian spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. Moreover, Rana was recently named in the 18-member squad for the highly-anticipated five-match Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy, scheduled to start from November 22 in Perth.
Harshit Rana likely to make Test debut on Friday against New Zealand
Notably, Rana was initially linked with the Indian squad as a travelling reserve at the start of the series in Bengaluru, but was later released to feature in the ongoing Ranji Trophy tournament for Delhi. The 22-year-old pacer had an all-round outing for his home side in the third-round match against Assam.
However, the BCCI is yet to confirm his inclusion in the squad, former national selector and current Delhi coach Sarandeep Singh told The Indian Express, “He is ready to play Test cricket. It would be good for him if he plays the Mumbai Test before going to Australia.” Earlier, the Delhi pacer had also opened up after being named in the squad for the BGT 2024-25 and confirmed that “the team management wanted me to play domestic before going to Australia and I am glad that I did well in this match both with the bat and ball.”
India’s squad for third Test against New Zealand
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana
