A Look at the Indian Squad for the Kiwi Challenge

So finally, the tests are here after a seemingly long and entertaining ODI and T20 series. The Indians will obviously be the favourites to win the series, especially after their exceptional performance in the ODI series.

But don't underestimate the Kiwis. They quite easily beat the T20 champions in the that format and thrashed them in the last one dayer. Daniel Vettori's boys will surely be sky high after that win.

Their squad for the first test is almost a complete makeover. In the squad of 14, six players will be playing India for the first time. This could be a worrying factor for India as they have never played these guys before.

They already had a tough time with Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill. If they have more of that then it will be a challenge for Dhoni's devils.

The Indian squad has also had a number of changes made. Let's have a quick summary and glance at the 16-man squad.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni(captain)

MS Dhoni is going to have to be an integral player for the team. Playing down the order makes it even more difficult. India's horrendous last series here saw the number seven batsman coming out very quickly.

Dhoni is going to have to be prepared for that  and look to guide his team out of trouble at that time.

Keeping would also be a little hard to adjust with. The red ball will swing a lot and bowlers like Ishant Sharma, who could easily clock 150km/h, will give Dhoni a tough time and he is going to adjust with that and fast.

Rahul Dravid

The Wall is back and how! Scoring a hundred in his last test ad a century in the practice match he played for Canterbury. Rahul Dravid has shown that he means business and the Kiwis are going to have to be careful of his form.

Getting him early is going to be the key. If they don't, the rest will be history.

Harbhajan Singh

The main spinner for India. After Jumbo's retirement, Harbhajan has took the task of filling Anil Kumble's huge boots. He had a very good series against England at home but conditions in New Zealand are completely different.

But he has proved to be a tough nut to crack for the batsman and has been exceptional in the one day series. A lot depends on this man. Let's see if he lives up to it—he should.

Zaheer Khan

Another important bowler. Zaheer will be spearheading the attack, and opening the bowling with Ishant Sharma or Lakshmipathy Balaji. He had a modest one day series picking up four wickets in five matches (you might say that is not impressive, but the highest wicket-taker picked five wickets) but at a high average of 46.

In almost matches, he started off his spell very well but started falling apart later into it and he also had a problem clearing up the tail quickly. Surely he will work on these aspects in the nets. Lets see if his work pays off.

VVS Laxman

Vengipurrapu Venkatsai Laxman is one of the last remaining of the Fab Five, which is now the Tremendous Three(okay?). He has a lot to prove after failing to perform in the England series. He is tipped to be the next one to retire, but we all know how good he is when under pressure.

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