Right after the conclusion of the 20-20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, the Indian team will be travelling to New Zealand for a three-match T20I and a three-match ODI series. The all-important ODI series will be starting on Friday, November 25 and will be played in Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch respectively.
Even though the New Zealand series marks India’s start of preparation for the next ODI World Cup, most of the big boys are given rest for the ODI series. Shikhar Dhawan will be leading the pack in the absence of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul while speedsters Kuldeep Sen and Umran Malik found their place in the 16-men squad.
Amidst a lot of discussion on Sanju Samson’s future, the 27-year-old was named a part of the squad which also features Rishabh Pant. It will be interesting for the fans to note how the team management uses these two players given the marquee tournament is just one year away.
Meanwhile, the Blackcaps have not announced their squad but it’s likely that the Kane Williamson-led side will announce a full-strength squad on their home turf. Williamson, who himself hasn’t been in great touch in ODIs will look forward to getting back into scoring charts and it will boost his confidence in white-ball cricket.
Squad
India
Shikhar Dhawan (C), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar, Umran Malik, Kuldeep Sen.
New Zealand – Not yet announced
Probable Playing XI
India
The only thing that needs to be seen is how the Men in Blue use their pacers in foreign conditions. The batters are more or less decided but when it comes to bowlers, they are likely to get limited opportunities.
Playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh
New Zealand
The Kiwis were battered by Australia in their previous series as their slow approach ultimately became the prime reason behind their fall. They lost the series 3-0 as their batting over the course of the series looked pale. When it comes to bowling, it was indeed better but there’s a lot of room for improvement.
Playing XI: Martin Guptill, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (c), Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.
NZ vs IND Head to Head
Played- 110 | New Zealand- 49 | Pakistan-
