India suffered a comprehensive four-wicket defeat in the ODI series opener against New Zealand at Hamilton on Wednesday (February 5).

Asked to bat first, India posted a mammoth 347/4 in 50 overs on the back of Shreyas Iyer’s maiden ODI century (103 off 107 balls) and KL Rahul’s dazzling 64-ball 88*.

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In reply, New Zealand rode on Ross Taylor’s unbeaten 84-ball 109 and significant contributions from Henry Nicholls (78 off 82 balls) and Tom Latham (69 off 48 balls) to overhaul the target with 11 balls to spare.

As both the teams are gearing up for the second ODI in Auckland on Saturday (February 8), veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has suggested a change in India’s playing XI.

Harbhajan wants India to play both Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal as he feels Kiwis are comfortable against pace but may struggle against the wrist spinners.

Speaking to Star Sports, Harbhajan said Kedar Jadhav can make way for Chahal, who was not part of the playing XI in the first ODI.

“I would like to see both spinners playing together - Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. This New Zealand team will play fast bowlers on any given day and they will take anyone on. But when it comes to playing spinners, it has always been a case for them. You can get those wickets in the middle overs. So I would like to see both the spinners play together. Maybe leave out Kedar Jadhav and play an extra spinner,” he asserted.

Black Caps all-rounder Corey Anderson echoed with Harbhajan’s words but added that it is unlikely to happen considering the ground sizes in Auckland.

“I would like to see both the spinners play for the India side but I think that they will go with only one because of the small size of the ground in Auckland. I think they can bring in a quick or strengthen the batting a bit more with an all-rounder maybe,” Anderson said.