Team India's squad for the upcoming New Zealand tour has been announced as Hardik Pandya and Shikhar Dhawan will be seen leading the pack in the T20I and ODI series respectively. The Men in Blue are slated to play three T20Is and as many ODIs against New Zealand post the conclusion of T20 World Cup.
The Chairman of selectors of the All-India Senior Selection Committee, Chetan Sharma addressed a virtual press conference on Monday (October 31) to announce the squads for Team India’s upcoming tour of New Zealand.
Senior players including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Dinesh Karthik, KL Rahul have been rested for the series which will start from November 18.
“We hurried Jasprit Bumrah before the T20 World Cup and you saw what happened. So we want to be patient now,” chief selector Chetan Sharma said during the press conference while announcing the squad. He also added that ignored opener Prithvi Shaw will get a chance soon.
Shikhar Dhawan was named the skipper, while Young Turk Rishabh Pant was appointed as his deputy. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been rested from the 50-over squad. Dhawan had captained India earlier this year on the tour of West Indies and Zimbabwe.
Kuldeep Sen earned his maiden India call-up after he performed well for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and in the Irani Cup match earlier this year.
Umran Malik has made his comeback after missing a few series in the last couple of months. Shahbaz Ahmed was impressive in the home series against South Africa and has retained his place in the squad.
Team India will depart for New Zealand after the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia so that the two teams may play a T20I match on November 18. Over the course of 13 days, India and New Zealand will play a total of 6 cricket matches, comprising three T20 Internationals and the same number of ODIs. On November 13, 2022, the T20 World Cup final will take place in Australia.
The last time when India toured New Zealand in 2022 they emerged victorious 5-0 in T20I series but lost the ODI series 0-3. Virat Kohli was the captain of the Indian team during that tour. The two teams also played two-match Test series where the hosts convincingly beat India 2-0.
India's squad for NZ T20Is: Hardik Pandya (C), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik.
India's squad for NZ ODIs: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), W Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen, Umran Malik.
Schedule of India’s tour of New Zealand 2022
1st T20I – 18th November, Wellington
2nd T20I – 20th November, Mount Maunganui
3rd T20I – November 22nd, Napier
1st ODI – 25th November, Auckland
2nd ODI – 27th November, Hamilton
3rd ODI – 30th November, Christchurch
