(Cricket news) After a splendid whitewash in the ODI series, India now shift their focus to the T20I series against New Zealand. Both the teams are playing with their 2nd string which means that we could see some youngsters show their prowess. New Zealand will be led by Mitchell Santner while Hardik Pandya will once again be the captain of India. Even though both the nations are prioritizing the other two formats and rightly so, the T20Is are still important for the players who are playing. The 1st T20I will be played at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi.
India’s possible playing XI:
Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
Bench: Jitesh Sharma, Prithvi Shaw, Mukesh Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal
The line-up for India is pretty much the same as it was against Sri Lanka last time out. Rahul Tripathi will get an extended run as will Shivam Mavi and Washington Sundar. Kuldeep Yadav’s recent performances have made him undroppable and would be a surprise if Yuzvendra Chahal is preferred over him. Prithvi Shaw will have to wait for his opportunity as captain Hardik Pandya has confirmed that Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill will continue to open the batting.
New Zealand possible playing XI:
Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Jacob Duffy
Bench: Ben Lister, Michael Rippon, Dane Cleaver, Henry Shipley
New Zealand are missing Kane Williamson, Tim Southee and Trent Boult but the line-up is still a strong one. It will be interesting to see how Mitchell Santner operates as captain of the side. The batting line-up didn’t turn up at all in the ODIs and they will be looking to make up for that in this series. Ish Sodhi didn’t play a single ODI but he is likely to come back in the team for this game.
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