Gambhir, Jayant Yadav join Indian squad

The left-handed batsman Gambhir, who last played for India in the 2014 tour of England and was dropped because of a series of poor scores, but impressively led India Blue to a title triumph in the Duleep Trophy.

Gautam Gambhir returns to the Indian side for the second Test in Kolkata.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Gautam Gambhir as KL Rahul's replacement for the next two Test matches against New Zealand after the latter suffered an injury in his right hamstring.

Off spinner Jayant Yadav will replace Ishant Sharma for the second Test with the pacer still recovering from Chikungunya. The BCCI medical team will continue to monitor his progress.

The left-handed batsman Gambhir, who last played for India in the 2014 tour of England and was dropped because of a series of poor scores, impressively led India Blue to a title triumph in the Duleep Trophy. He scored 356 runs at an average of 71.20.

He has scored 4046 runs with an average of 42.58 in 56 Tests and has played some crucial knocks for India.

India leads the three-match series 1-0 after a 197-run triumph against New Zealand in Kanpur.