- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 217,542
On the back of their biggest-ever ODI victory and with merely a two-day turnaround time, India will resume their 2023 World Cup preparations high on confidence against the world no. 1 side New Zealand in Hyderabad in the first of the three-ODI series starting Wednesday (January 18).
As evidenced in their 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka, India's batting is fairly settled and any changes to their first-choice order for this series in particular is merely temporary. That, and Jasprit Bumrah's delayed comeback in white-ball cricket - a decision taken on a precautionary note at the start of the home season - will allow for some more experimentation to test the bench strength as India look to firm up their squad for the marquee event they're hosting in October-November.
KL Rahul's leave due to family commitments coupled with the last-minute injury update on Shreyas Iyer will allow the Indian management to squeeze in both Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan in the XI, though the 'keeper will likely be playing out of his position in the middle-order. Uncapped Rajat Patidar, though named Iyer's replacement in the squad for the ODIs, is unlikely to break into the XI straightaway.
Arshdeep Singh has been left out in favour of Shardul Thakur, who was earlier not picked for the Sri Lanka series while the rest for Axar Patel has allowed Shahbaz Ahmed to earn a recall after having last played on the Bangladesh tour last year. Though Washington Sundar, who can provide quite a handy match-up against the plenty of left-handers in New Zealand's lineup, may pip him for that spot.
Meanwhile, New Zealand arrive on the other side of the border with a strong 2-1 come-from-behind series win in Pakistan, and would want to build on the gains from their good showing in subcontinental conditions.
Taking cognisance of their packed away schedule to begin the World Cup year, the visitors have also been mindful of the players' workload. New Zealand have rested two senior-most players in Kane Williamson and Tim Southee for the six white-ball games entirely. Williamson was New Zealand's leading run-scorer in their previous ODI assignment with 164 runs at an average of 54.67 while Southee was among the top-three wicket-takers in the three-match series.
But the absence of two of their most prolific players would, in no way, undermine the threat New Zealand can pose. Devon Conway, who starred with a century and a fifty, and Glenn Phillips, who single-handedly won them the decider in Karachi last week, can prove quite destructive on the batting-friendly surfaces on offer in India and would keep the hosts on their toes.
When: Wednesday, January 18 at 1:30 PM IST
Where: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
What to expect: Clear blue skies, a sunny afternoon and no chances of rain interruption whatsoever.
Team News
India
There's no update on Yuzvendra Chahal's shoulder injury he sustained while diving in the first ODI against Sri Lanka, which has now kept him out for two straight games. Axar's absence will allow India to try out Washington Sundar for an extended period in that no.7 slot. Shardul Thakur may get a look in at some point in the series maybe ahead of Umran Malik, who picked up key middle-overs wickets but bowled at an economy of more than 6.8 in both games against Sri Lanka and was rested for the third.
Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Umran Malik/Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal/Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj
New Zealand
Henry Nicholls could be the front-runner to replace Williamson in the XI from their last game, while in the bowling department the toss up would be between the returning medium-pace allrounder Dough Bracewell or Blair Tickner. All three last played for New Zealand between April-July 2022.
Playing XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (C, wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner/Dough Bracewell, Lockie Ferguson
Squads:
India Squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Srikar Bharat, Shahbaz Ahmed, Rajat Patidar
New Zealand Squad: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w/c), Michael Bracewell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner, Jacob Duffy, Doug Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Henry Shipley
As evidenced in their 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka, India's batting is fairly settled and any changes to their first-choice order for this series in particular is merely temporary. That, and Jasprit Bumrah's delayed comeback in white-ball cricket - a decision taken on a precautionary note at the start of the home season - will allow for some more experimentation to test the bench strength as India look to firm up their squad for the marquee event they're hosting in October-November.
KL Rahul's leave due to family commitments coupled with the last-minute injury update on Shreyas Iyer will allow the Indian management to squeeze in both Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan in the XI, though the 'keeper will likely be playing out of his position in the middle-order. Uncapped Rajat Patidar, though named Iyer's replacement in the squad for the ODIs, is unlikely to break into the XI straightaway.
Arshdeep Singh has been left out in favour of Shardul Thakur, who was earlier not picked for the Sri Lanka series while the rest for Axar Patel has allowed Shahbaz Ahmed to earn a recall after having last played on the Bangladesh tour last year. Though Washington Sundar, who can provide quite a handy match-up against the plenty of left-handers in New Zealand's lineup, may pip him for that spot.
Meanwhile, New Zealand arrive on the other side of the border with a strong 2-1 come-from-behind series win in Pakistan, and would want to build on the gains from their good showing in subcontinental conditions.
Taking cognisance of their packed away schedule to begin the World Cup year, the visitors have also been mindful of the players' workload. New Zealand have rested two senior-most players in Kane Williamson and Tim Southee for the six white-ball games entirely. Williamson was New Zealand's leading run-scorer in their previous ODI assignment with 164 runs at an average of 54.67 while Southee was among the top-three wicket-takers in the three-match series.
But the absence of two of their most prolific players would, in no way, undermine the threat New Zealand can pose. Devon Conway, who starred with a century and a fifty, and Glenn Phillips, who single-handedly won them the decider in Karachi last week, can prove quite destructive on the batting-friendly surfaces on offer in India and would keep the hosts on their toes.
When: Wednesday, January 18 at 1:30 PM IST
Where: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
What to expect: Clear blue skies, a sunny afternoon and no chances of rain interruption whatsoever.
Team News
India
There's no update on Yuzvendra Chahal's shoulder injury he sustained while diving in the first ODI against Sri Lanka, which has now kept him out for two straight games. Axar's absence will allow India to try out Washington Sundar for an extended period in that no.7 slot. Shardul Thakur may get a look in at some point in the series maybe ahead of Umran Malik, who picked up key middle-overs wickets but bowled at an economy of more than 6.8 in both games against Sri Lanka and was rested for the third.
Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Umran Malik/Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal/Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj
New Zealand
Henry Nicholls could be the front-runner to replace Williamson in the XI from their last game, while in the bowling department the toss up would be between the returning medium-pace allrounder Dough Bracewell or Blair Tickner. All three last played for New Zealand between April-July 2022.
Playing XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (C, wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner/Dough Bracewell, Lockie Ferguson
Squads:
India Squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Srikar Bharat, Shahbaz Ahmed, Rajat Patidar
New Zealand Squad: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w/c), Michael Bracewell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner, Jacob Duffy, Doug Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Henry Shipley
