Indian ODI team in action. (FILE photo)
New Zealand will travel to India for a white-ball series. The Blackcaps will play three ODIs and five T20Is against the Men in Blue starting from January 11. Senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are expected to return to the national side for the 50-over format, and as per the T20I leg of the series, it is the final opportunity for Suryakumar Yadav’s side to test their combinations ahead of the marquee T20 World Cup starting from February 7.
India’s form going into the marquee series has been a mixed bag in ODIs. They have lost the ODI series to Australia away from home in October, but did manage to win the ODI series in November against South Africa.
The squad for the T20I leg of the series has already been announced alongside the squad for the T20 World Cup. But the ODI squad has been kept waiting. Vice-captain Shreyas Iyer, who injured himself during the series against Australia, has not participated against South Africa.
The squad for the New Zealand ODI series, as per reports, is expected to be announced between January 3 and January 4. Keeping the series in mind, Indian veterans Rohit and Kohli are taking part in the ongoing Vijay Hazare trophy. Both the players have blitzed with tons in the tournament thusfar.
India’s squad for T20I series against NZ announced & ICC Men’s T20 World Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (WK)
The India vs New Zealand series will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network in India. All eight matches will also be available for live streaming on the Jio Hotstar app and website.