All eyes will be on young wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant when India take on New Zealand in the three-match Twenty20 International series starting in Wellington on Tuesday.
With captain Virat Kohli rested, the Rohit Sharma-led squad will be eyeing a first-ever T20I series win in New Zealand, having thumped the hosts 4-1 in the One-day International series.
“We too are humans and our bodies need a bit of rest,” opener Shikhar Dhawan said on the eve of the first T20I. “Of course, we would be looking to the win the series and carry the momentum back home for the Australia series.”
The ODI series solved a part of the puzzle as India look to finalise their squad of 15 for the World Cup. But there are still a few spots up for grabs and the T20 series can help the team management zero in on the squad for England.
Pant, who was not part of the ODIs, has a big opportunity to stake a claim for a World Cup spot. The 21-year-old had a fine outing during India’s Test series win over Australia.
Former captain MS Dhoni is also back in the T20I squad after being omitted from the series against Australia last year, and his performance will also be keenly followed. He last played a T20 in July 2018.
Following the high of the Test series Down Under, another stellar showing might just convince the selectors to include Pant in the final-15.
The series is also an opportunity for Dinesh Karthik, who has done well as a finisher but is still not a sure starter in the eleven. Ambati Rayudu grabbed his chance with a match-winning 90 in the fifth ODI, probably enough to seal a place in the middle-order.
Nineteen-year-old Shubman Gill showed glimpses of his much talked about talent in the final two ODIs but did not allow himself to settle in his debut series. In Kohli’s absence, he might get to bat at no 3 again.
Besides Pant, spin-bowling all-rounder Krunal Pandya and Punjab pacer Siddharth Kaul also join the team. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed have not made much of an impact so far. Dhawan, who went through a lean run of form in the last three ODIs against New Zealand, is eager to finish the tour on a high.
Ahead of the game, he was seen practising with a tennis ball to counter the bounce and swing generated by the New Zealand pacers.
The Black Caps will be desperate to turn things around. They do hold an upper hand over India in the shortest format of the game, having beaten the visitors 2-0 in 2008-’09 in what was the sole bilateral series played between the teams on New Zealand soil till date.
New Zealand edged out India 1-0 in a two-match away series in 2012 before losing 1-2 in India in 2017-’18. The ball swung during the early stages of the final ODI at the Westpac Stadium on Sunday, and New Zealand pacers will be itching to exploit that.
However, the Kiwis will be missing the services of premier fast bowler Trent Boult, who has been rested. It will be interesting to see what rookie all-rounder Daryl Mitchell and pacer Blair Tickner do in their debut series.
Squads:
Kane Williamson(c), Doug Bracewell, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Scott Kuggeleijn, Colin Munro, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner, James Neesham.
Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya, Mohammad Siraj.