India Playing XI vs NZ: India vs NewZealand LIVE: India’s T20 reboot will begin in Wellington today vs NewZealand. With Hardik Pandya leading the side, the first decision he will have to take is on the openers for 1st T20. With Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli all rested, India’s top order will be the first to get a look in after T20 World Cup disaster. But India have a whole lot of options. With Shubman Gill in the T20 mix, India is likely to open the innings with Gill and Ishan Kishan pair: Follow IND vs NZ LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
India’s options for openers:
- Shubman Gill
- Ishan Kishan
- Suryakumar Yadav
- Rishabh Pant
Who Opens for India? Another option can be if the captain wants to try Rishabh Pant as opener, the GILL will have to sit out of XI. Sanju Samson has been handed another chance and he would be desperate to make it count and the number three slot seems a good fit for him.
Yuzvendra Chahal certain to play: After sitting out entire WORLD CUP, Chahal is certain to be drafted in XI today.
Umran Malik coming back in XI: He did not have the best of times on his maiden tour of Ireland and England. But he is set to comeback in XI today. Either of Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Mohd Siraj will sit out.
India vs New Zealand 1st T20I Probable Playing XI:
India Predicted XI: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson / Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda / Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar / Mohd Siraj Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
Who will open in Wellington?
One of the problems India faced in T20 WC was poor start. While the bunch of openers in Wellington are not express starters like Prithvi Shaw, they could be an upgrade to what how KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma played.
Even though Ishan has struggled at times against express pace, he is still a better option at opening than at No 3. But Laxman-Hardik will have to take the big call on who will partner with him.
- Suryakumar, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson have all opened for India in T20s.
- While SKY has been a trusted sword at No 4, India need exuberance at the start. SKY can deliver that in the new model.
- Suryakumar could be tried as an opener once again.
- There has been a lot of talk about playing Rishabh Pant as an opener instead of No 5.
- However, Rahul Dravid has been hesitant to disturb the top-order.
- With two years left for the next T20 WC, it’s time, he breaks the opening pair and tries something new.
- India struggled in T20 WC 2021 and 2022 both due to poor opening stands.
- It will also give Pant a role in the team. He has been without any for a long time and the team management should establish clarity.
- Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson are the two other batters who are without a specific role.
- Hooda has played from opening to No 7 all slots. But he is also without role clarity.
- But after an explosive batting display against Ireland, he makes a claim for opening too.
- As for Sanju Samson, forget role clarity, he doesn’t even have clarity on whether he will be on the next tour.
- But with selectors picking Samson for both NZ and Bangladesh tours, he will have some role clarity.
- While he is a strong contender for the opening slot, he is likely to bat at No 4 in place of Surya.
India Playing XI vs NZ: Opening CONUNDRUM for Laxman & Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar likely to reclaim opening slot, Follow IND vs NZ LIVE Updates
As for other positions, Hardik Pandya is set to play the finisher’s role. With Dinesh Karthik out of the picture, Pandya will need to establish himself as a finisher and not a middle-order anchor. Washington Sundar who has been in and out of the team due to a string of injuries will be his partner in the death.
Sundar is considered to be a long-term replacement for Ravichandran Ashwin. While he needs to deliver with the ball until Ravindra Jadeja is back in the team, he needs to let his bat speak too. He will have 3 T20s before Jadeja is back in the team to reestablish himself.
India vs New Zealand 1st T20I Probable Playing XI:
India Predicted XI: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson / Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda / Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar / Mohd Siraj Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
Where does Umran Malik fit in?
If the team was selected after the T20 WC, Bhuvneshwar Kumar would not have been in the team. Despite the qualities he brings in, he has been big match flop in tough bowling conditions. Wellington is one such ground where bowling extremely difficult with T20 scores
Umran Malik, who was dropped after bowling just 9 overs in international cricket, is back in the mix again. But with nothing at stake this time, he expects backing from team management. His raw pace could be his weapon. He is also developing some variations and yorkers to make it difficult for the batters. He will get his chance in the series if not the first T20.
Arshdeep Singh having established himself as a death-overs specialist will retain his spot. However, Laxman will have to make a decision on the third seamer. Mohammed Siraj and Harshal Patel are both in the team and one of them will get the spot. Both had no part to play in India’s T20 WC campaign. The team management could also take a look at Siraj instead of Bhuvneshwar.
In spin department, Yuzvendra Chahal will end his exile. Despite being considered India’s No 1 leggie, Dravid and Rohit failed to find a spot for him. But on NZ tour, he will start, keeping Kuldeep Yadav on the bench.
India’s squad for New Zealand T20Is: Hardik Pandya (C), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC and WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik
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Editors pick
