India to play NZ in three T20Is and two Tests starting November 17.
Given that recently pacer Jasprit Bumrah stated the need to give the players a break after being in bio-bubbles since August of this year. Therefore, some sources have indicated that top players might just take a break from the two Test matches against New Zealand in Kanpur (November 25-29) and Mumbai (Dec 3-7).
Those who are rested for the T20Is will come back for the Tests while some who play the shortest version will then get a break before the South Africa tour that starts end of December.
It has also been reported that Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya could be dropped from the T20 squad against New Zealand.
In their place, proven IPL performers like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Avesh Khan, and Yuzvendra Chahal are going to be back in the mix as the likes of Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah get some much-needed rest. Also in line for New Zealand T20Is is Venkatesh Iyer, who many feels could be Pandya’s replacement in the future.
Umran Malik, who stunned everyone with his pace in IPL 2021, can be a surprise selection given that the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 will be played on bouncy tracks of Australia. The likes of Akshar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar may all be back for the T20 series while Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Umesh Yadav are set to come back for the red-ball format.
The BCCI and the national selectors meet in the next couple of days to select India’s team for the Tests and T20Is against New Zealand. And one of the biggest things on their agenda will be the captaincy issue in the limited-overs format.
It has been reported that Rohit Sharma is expected to take over the captaincy in the T20I series against New Zealand.
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“First things first, the squads for the New Zealand series need to be decided. Rohit hasn’t yet said that he doesn’t want to lead in the T20 Internationals against New Zealand. And why would he not want to lead? It’s his first series as full-time T20 captain,” a senior BCCI official told PTI when asked if Rohit would rest.
India has only three 50-over games in the current home season with all the encounters against West Indies in February. The BCCI is keen on having a two-year master-plan going into the 2023 World Cup. While it is in no hurry to announce a new ODI captain, it is certain that it doesn’t want a separate white-ball captain for just three games with 17 T20 games in India till June.
(PTI inputs)