India Squad for New Zealand Series: Rohit Sharma to lead India – With the new cycle beginning after India’s disastrous performance in the T20 World Cup, India will try Venkatesh Iyer as Hardik Pandya’s replacement. As reported by InsideSport, Rohit Sharma will lead in absence of Virat Kohli, who has been rested for the T20I series. Follow IND vs NZ Live Updates on InsideSport.in.
InsideSport reported that Hardik Pandya will be dropped as BCCI was unhappy with the entire episode. While picked as an all-rounder, Hardik played the role of a finisher in T20 World Cup. He just bowled four overs without any success and scored 69 runs in five matches. As he continued to struggle with his injury, his absence from bowling created a disbalance in the team. BCCI has also asked the team management and the selection committee for a report on the matter.
India Squad for New Zealand Series: Unfit Hardik Pandya dumped, Venkatesh Iyer takes his place, Rohit Sharma to lead India vs NZ
“Definitely, the selection committee and the team management will be asked to submit a report. And for sure, Hardik Pandya’s name will be there,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport.
The selectors and the BCCI are already looking for alternatives to Hardik Pandya. One name that has done rounds after the IPL 2021 was KKR’s Venkatesh Iyer. As a seam bowling-allrounder, he has done well in the IPL 2021, scoring 370 runs and bagging three wickets.
“It’s not just about one or two seam all-rounders. We do not have any backup for Hardik and that is very worrying. The ones we tried in Hadik’s absence haven’t really lived up to exception. We cannot just wait for a player to recover. We need a seam bowling all-rounder and there is a clear lack of depth in that field. Rahul, Virat and Rohit and the selection committee are aware of it and the selectors will be monitoring the seam all-rounders’ progress in Mushtaq Ali,” the official said.
As for other members of the team, as predicted IPL performers were rewarded. The likes of Orange Cap holder Ruturaj Gaikwad and Purple Cap holder Harshal Patel have been called up. Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvednra Chahal, Dee[ak Chahar and Shreyas Iyer have also made it to the squad.
India’s T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj
India Squad for New Zealand Series: Unfit Hardik Pandya dumped, Venkatesh Iyer takes his place, Rohit Sharma to lead India vs NZ
| NEW ZEALAND TOUR OF INDIA I 2021-22 | |||
| Day | Date | Match | Venue |
| Wednesday | 17th Nov 2021 | 1st T20I | Jaipur |
| Friday | 19th Nov 2021 | 2nd T20I | Ranchi |
| Sunday | 21st Nov 2021 | 3rd T20I | Kolkata |
The Committee also picked the India ‘A’ squad for the South Africa tour scheduled to start from 23rd November 2021 in Bloemfontein. The team will play three four-day matches during the tour.
India ‘A’ squad for South Africa tour: Priyank Panchal (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Baba Aparajith, Upendra Yadav (wicket-keeper), K Gowtham, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Umran Malik, Ishan Porel, Arzan Nagwaswalla
New Zealand Tour of India: Hardik Pandya dropped, BCCI to try out Venkatesh Iyer, Rohit Sharma to lead
| INDIA A TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA I 2021-22 | |||
| Day | Date | Match | Venue |
| Tue-Fri | 23rd to 26th Nov 2021 | 1st Four-day Match | Bloemfontein |
| Mon-Thu | 29th Nov to 2nd Dec 2021 | 2nd Four-day Match | Bloemfontein |
| Mon-Thu | 6th to 9th Dec 2021 | 3rd Four-day Match | Bloemfontein |
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