Virat Kohli, Bumrah, Shami, Rahul to be rested for T20I series against New Zealand.
India vs New Zealand T20I Series: Following an opprobrious outing in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021, team India are set to host New Zealand for a short tour of three T20Is and two test matches. The kiwi’s India tour is scheduled to commence on 17th November with a T20I series.
New Zealand once again crumpled India hopes to enter the semi-finals of the marquee ICC T20 World Cup 2021. The mini-rivalry in making between India and New Zealand has been in news for a few years now, where the kiwis have ruthlessly dented India’s hopes to lift the ICC titles.
As per the reports available, big Indian cricketers such as Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul are likely to get some time off during the T20I series, after they complained of excessive bubble fatigue.
The Indian T20I squad against New Zealand will be announced soon by the selectors and it is learnt that current team India’s vice-captain Rohit Sharma will be handed over the reins of the side.
Various close sources to BCCI also claimed that the board can possibly put the entire (T20I and ODI) limited overs responsibility on Rohit Sharma’s shoulder with a couple of more World Cups lined up ahead.
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Rahul Dravid, who will join the Indian setup as a head coach for the next couple of years, has also shown his interest in giving the highest order roles and responsibility of white-ball cricket to Rohit Sharma, while he kept KL Rahul as his backup option.
Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to get an axe from the side:
Furthermore, the coloured Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya and pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar are also certain to get an axe owing to their poor performances in the ongoing T20 WOrld cup 2021.
Pandya was picked for T20 World Cup as an all-rounder with selectors giving a nod to him for his bowling abilities, however, he didn’t bowl in the first match against Pakistan which raised several questions over his fitness and lack of proper communication.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is having a horrible time, is also certain to be left out for the series. Kumar didn’t perform in the Vivo IPL 2021 phase 2 and his performance dipped in the T20 World Cup matches as well. He was not able to justify his selection, which was purely based on his experience, and was soon benched for the next matches.
Performing young assets such as Ruturaj Gaikwad, Venkatesh Iyer, Avesh Khan, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna are likely to get a chance to represent India in the T20I series against New Zealand.
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