IND vs NZ 1st Test: Will Bengaluru Weather Impact Team India's Decision on Picking Playing 11?

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Team India will resume their quest for a third successive World Test Championship (WTC) Final when they face New Zealand in a three-match series, starting with the first Test in Bengaluru from Wednesday (October 16).

Rohit Sharma-led side resumed red ball action with a 2-0 whitewash over Bangladesh just a few weeks ago, when they fielded an unchanged line-up in both the Tests in Chennai and Kanpur.

However, with rain and overcast conditions set for the next few days in Bengaluru, India could be looking to stick to the same combination for the five-day contest at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

How India could line up in IND vs NZ 1st Test in Bengaluru?

The batting line-up looked pretty much settled with skipper Rohit opening alongside youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal, providing the right-left combination at the top of the order. The duo are likely to retain the opening slots.

Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli held the number the three and four positions with wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul also shuffling positions. The quartet will make up the top six, while the two all-rounders will take up the next two slots.

Seasoned campaigners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, who have often shared the load equally with both bat and ball, especially at home, will pip the other spinners to retain their spots in the playing 11.

The toss up would have been between an extra spin option or a third pacer. That's where the Bengaluru weather would have made Team India's decision on picking the playing 11 much easier as an extra pacer in overcast conditions is a no brainer.

So, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav may just have to wait on the sidelines for another Test as Akash Deep is likely to be trusted to partner the spearheads Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the pace bowling department.

India's Possible 11 for 1st Test vs New Zealand

IND Likely XI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Fans and players of course will hope the weather gods are kind and allow for play over the next five days after the day preceding the Test, Tuesday, October 15, witnessed inclement weather with dark clouds and steady rains.

Though the drainage facility in the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is one of the finest, the steady rain won't help and we may see some parts or even the entire day's play get impacted.

However, one would hope there is at least enough sessions of play available for a result as Rohit's side showed just three days of play would be enough to pull off a result when rain wiped out two days and a session of play in the Kanpur Test against Bangladesh.