India vs New Zealand 1st Test: Will Mohammed Siraj play today? Who will replace him?

The India vs New Zealand 2 match Test series gets underway on Thursday, November 25 with the first Test set to be played at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. With Virat Kohli opting to sit out of the first Test, Ajinkya Rahane will be leading the team in the Kanpur Test.  While Team India will miss some of the key players during the India vs New Zealand 1st Test, there are also concerns over Mohammed Siraj's availability due to his recent injury. The question is whether Mohammed Siraj will play India vs New Zealand 1st Test.

India vs New Zealand: Mohammed Siraj injury update 

BCCI had uploaded a video on their social media accounts in which Mohammed Siraj was seen bowling the nets ahead of the India vs New Zealand Kanpur Test. In the video, Siraj can be seen bowling with good rhythm and pace and did not seem in any discomfort with the injury. However, the fast bowler was seen wearing protective gloves while taking a run on the field, which indicates that he is yet to return to 100% fitness from an injury suffered during the T20I series. 

With no clear indication about Mohammed Siraj's availability for India vs New Zealand 1st Test, Team India will rely on experienced pacers Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav to do the job with their pace. In Mohammad Siraj's absence, Prasidh Krishna is likely to get a chance if coach Rahul Dravid decided to go with three pacers

Preview of India vs New Zealand 1st Test 

The spin department will be under the watchful eyes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. With no Kohli and pant in the batting lineup, Team India will rely on Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane to score runs for the team. Shreyas Iyer who will be making his debut the 1st Test will be hoping to score runs and impress the selectors in order to cement his place in the longest format of the game. The series will also be a chance for coach Rahul Dravid to test his bench strength before the South Africa tour. 

Team India squad for New Zealand Test series

 Ajinkya Rahane (c), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara (vc), Shubman Gill, S Iyer, Wriddiman Saha (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, J Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohd Siraj and Prasidh Krishna.