As Team India gears up for NZ Tests, Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has laid the objectives that his side would be looking to achieve in the two-match Test series against New Zealand.
Top-ranked India have won all their fixtures of ICC World Test Championship so far. However, New Zealand away is said to be their biggest challenge so far as they get ready for the final of the competition.
“We need 100 points to be in contention to play at Lord’s. Two overseas wins out of six Tests will keep us in good stead. We play six Tests overseas this year [two in New Zealand, followed by four in Australia later in the year], so that’s one objective.
“The other is to play like the world’s No. 1 Test team, because that’s what this team believes in more than anything else. On the Test front, that’s what we’re looking at,” said Ravi Shastri.
With Rohit Sharma been ruled out of NZ tour, Ravi Shastri believes the likes of Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw can produce a show to display their pedigree.
“Both are supremely exciting talents. Regardless of who gets into the XI in Wellington, the fact of the matter is they’re here, part of India’s national squad, and from here on they should know that the sky remains the limit. He [Gill] is phenomenally talented. His approach to batting is very clear and he exhibits a very positive mindset. That’s very exciting for a boy who’s just 20 going on 21,” said Team India coach.
India’s Test squad for NZ Tests
Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Navdeep Saini