'Boldest call yet': England's shock selection 'gamble' on 21-year-old for Test debut against NZ

England will unveil one of the most exciting young talents in the country at Test level this week, with Jacob Bethell to make his debut against New Zealand.

The 21-year-old, who has already played 15 white-ball games for England, has been parachuted into the team for the opening game of the series in Christchurch.

The news caps off an insane 24 hours for Bethell, who went for $476,368 in the IPL auction after being signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the tournament.

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Bethell has been confirmed to bat at No.3 in his first outing at Test level, with Ollie Pope sliding down to the middle-order and set to keep wicket after an injury to Jordan Cox.

Speaking to media ahead of the first day of play later this week, Joe Root said he was excited to see the prodigious young talent in action.

"Really pleased for him and looking forward to seeing him bat," the skipper said.

"His game is suited to batting at three. If he gets in on a wicket like at Hagley, he could be destructive".

While the praise from within the England camp will be high, Bethell's selection has raised plenty of eyebrows given his career record to date.

Across his 20 games at first-class level, Bethell has scored just 793 runs at an average of 25.44 and has failed to score a century in red-ball cricket.

Bethell's performance in the ODI and T20 formats have shown glimpses of his immense talent, with three half-centuries already on his resume for England.

The all-rounder, who also bowls left-arm spin, was born in Barbados before relocating to England at the age of 12.

The first Test between kicks off on Thursday morning at Hagley Oval.

England first Test XI vs New Zealand

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir