New Zealand and India to play 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs from November 18 onwards.
Both India and New Zealand lost their respective semi-finals in the recent T20 World Cup 2022 and will clash with one another. India will be captained in T20Is by Hardik Pandya and Shikhar Dhawan in ODIs.
The tour begins with a three-game T20 International series across Wellington (Nov 18), Tauranga (Nov 20), and Napier (Nov 22), before moving into the ODI series across Auckland (Nov 25), Hamilton (Nov 27) and Christchurch (Nov 30).
Kane Williamson faced the reporters in a select media interaction organized by Amazon Prime Video ahead of the series.
Talking about Hardik Pandya, Kane Williamson said: “Hardik is a superstar of the game. I played against him on a number of occasions. He is one of the most sought-after match-winners. And the fact that he is an all-rounder, his bowling is going really well, and he can hit the ball as he does. He is a special cricketer. As for his leadership skill goes, I haven’t played with him, so I exactly don’t know, but he has had a lot of success in the IPL.”
Also in action will be Williamson’s Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) teammate Umran Malik and the New Zealand captain said that the pacer is a really exciting talent.
“Umran (Malik) is an exciting talent. His raw pace is a real asset to the team. To see him in the international scene now has been excellent. And I think when you’ve got that ability to bowl 150 mark as a fast bowler, it’s exhilarating. I think by being in the squad; clearly, there is high hopes that he will have an involvement with Indian cricket for a long time. Coming on these tours, where he will have the opportunity to play more and more. It will make him a better cricketer,” Williamson said.
(Amazon Prime Video/Indian Express inputs)