IND vs NZ 2024: Why are KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj not playing second Test?

India and New Zealand are squaring off in the second Test at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, which gets underway on Thursday, October 24. The tourists are 1-0 up in the three-match series after winning the first Test in Bengaluru last week by eight wickets.

At the toss, Rohit Sharma announced wholesale changes to the playing XI for the second Test as KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav made way for Shubman Gill, Akash Deep, and Washington Sundar.

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Gill missed the first Test due to neck stiffness and it paved the way for Sarfaraz Khan to make his comeback to the playing XI. The Mumbai batter celebrated his return with a fantastic 150 in the second innings under pressure. Meanwhile, Rahul fell cheaply in both innings and had to make way for Gill as India look to restore parity in the series.

Meanwhile, Siraj looked off-colour during the two Tests against Bangladesh and the first Test versus New Zealand. India decided to replace him with Akash Deep, who has had a fantastic start to his international career, taking eight wickets from five innings at 23.12.

Washington Sundar was added to the squad after the first Test. Some reports suggested that the off-spin-bowling all-rounder would make it to the playing XI in place of Kuldeep to challenge the plethora of left-handed batters in the New Zealand line-up. India went in with that plan as the 25-year-old is all set to play his first Test since March 2021.

Meanwhile, the Kiwis also made one change to their side as they added all-rounder Mitchell Santner in place of Matt Henry. The right-arm pacer had a fine outing in the first Test as he took five wickets in the first innings and three in the second. However, New Zealand captain Tom Latham said that the 32-year-old was ruled out due to a glute niggle.

What did the captains say at the toss?

Latham won the toss and opted to bat first. He noted that the surface was different from the one in Bengaluru. Latham said that the pitch looks dry and there is not a lot of grass to aid the pacers. He reckoned that the spinners will play a big role in the Test match.

"We're going to have a bat. Surface slightly different to what it was last week. Not a lot of grass. Might produce a bit of spin as we expect when we come to these parts of the world. Obviously a really proud moment for this group. We celebrated that but our focus has quickly turned to Pune here. It's just about adapting to this surface. Trying to take the confidence we built up from last week. Matt Henry misses out with a glute niggle. Santner comes in," Latham said at the toss.

Also Read: IND vs NZ 2024: Tom Latham optimistic about using Pune's spin-friendly track in favour

Meanwhile, Rohit admitted that he would have also batted first had he won the toss. However, he hoped that his bowlers will be able to make the most of the new ball in the first 10 overs.

"Would've batted as well. When you play a Test match like that, the first session didn't go our way. But we batted well in the second innings. We take a lot of positives from that and see how we can turn things around here. Always want to find ways to get back into the Test match when you're behind. That's what we did. Pitch is a little drier, yes. We do understand how important the first 10 overs are. Three changes - Siraj, KL and Kuldeep miss out. Akash Deep, Washington and Gill come in," Rohit stated.