IND vs NZ: BCCI gives concerning update on Jasprit Bumrah's absence from third Test against New Zealand

Before starting the Third and final Test of the series against New Zealand, at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai. Team India were in a spot of bother along with a selection conundrum as the premier pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, was left out of the playing XI.

It is worth noting that Bumrah rarely sits out from the national side. The only exception is the workload management concern; his back surgery was an exceptional case as well. Notably, the hosts are playing the Blackcaps as a part of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC 2023-25 cycle) and have already lost the Test series.

But given that the Indian side is to tour Australia next, which is considered one of the toughest challenges to overcome by any team in the world. Hence, ending the series on a winning note and also avoiding an unthinkable whitewash of the hosts on Indian soil will be quite crucial. Both teams will aim to ensure making it to the WTC final eventually, but losing even a game here can make things tough for either of the sides.

Hence, at this point, Bumrah missing a Test can be a worrying sign. The key reason is that the Indian board aka BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) provided a concerning update by revealing that the pacer has been suffering viral illness and was yet to fully recover from it. Apart from them, even at the toss, Captain Rohit Sharma too mentioned the reason why Bumrah was not playing the third Test, which began on Friday, November 1.

"Mr Jasprit Bumrah has not fully recovered from his viral illness. He was unavailable for selection for the third Test in Mumbai," wrote BCCI on their 'X' handle.

Check out the latest post of BCCI here:

Also Check- IND vs NZ 2024: 3rd Test match preview

Siraj replaces Bumrah, Latham wins the toss and New Zealand bat first

Meanwhile, another pacer Mohammed Siraj has replaced Jasprit Bumrah. Besides, New Zealand have elected to bat first after winning the toss. Hoping to get the visitors out cheaply, skipper Sharma hoped that his bowlers will restrict the visitors as quickly as possible.

"We understand that we haven't played well in this series. Looks like a good pitch. Hopefully, we can restrict them as quickly as possible. Our focus is on this Test match. Bumrah is not well, Siraj comes in for him," said Rohit at the toss.

Also Read: India vs New Zealand, 3rd Test, Weather Forecast and Pitch Report of Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

On the other hand, New Zealand Captain Tom Latham felt that the pitch looked a good one to bat first and hoped that his batters would put up a big score yet again in the series to put India under pressure. Moreover, after winning a historic series in India, he called Test cricket funny by recalling the Sri Lanka tour where the Kiwis suffered a humiliating defeat. However, Latham still believed that the team played fairly good cricket on that tour but just that the result may not reflect the same.

"We are gonna have a bat. Looks a reasonably good surface, hopefully put some runs on the board again and put a little bit of pressure later on. Definitely focusing on this game. We spoke about it before the second Test in Pune. What we did in Bangalore was great, but we had to switch our focus quickly to that second Test and nothing changes," Latham stated.

"A new opportunity this game. It's a funny game - Test cricket. In Sri Lanka, I don't think we played all that badly. Unfortunately you can just fall on the wrong side of the result. I don't think we have changed a lot in the last two weeks," he further continued.

"We have tried to keep things simple and play our brand of cricket. We are hoping for more of the same this game. It's about adapting to the surface as quickly as possible. Mitch Santner has got a little bit of a side strain. Ish Sodhi comes in. Matt Henry is fit and he comes in for Tim Southee," Latham concluded.

India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj.

New Zealand Playing Xi: Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Will Young (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Ajaz Patel, William O'Rourke.