India Playing XI vs NZ: NO Samson & Umran, Rishabh Pant opening with Ishan Kishan: Follow IND vs NZ 2ND T20 LIVE

India Playing XI vs NZ: India vs NewZealand LIVE: In India’s T20 REBOOT, the team management has put great emhpahsis on Rishabh Pant. He is designated opener along with Ishan Kishan. However, India have stuck to their old formula with experienced pacers. Umran Malik stays out once again with Mohammed Siraj and Bhuvneshwar Kumar getting the nod besides Arshdeep Singh. Follow IND vs NZ LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.

India (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya(c), Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Who Opens for India? Indian openers faced the bulk of criticism for their T20 WC exit and a change is expected with both Rohit and Rahul unavailable. As many as 6 players are in contention for the two slots, with Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav as the front runners. Sanju Samson has been handed another chance and he would be desperate to make it count and the number three slot seems a good fit for him.

Yuzvendra Chahal certain to play: After sitting out entire WORLD CUP, Chahal is certain to be drafted in XI today.

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India Playing XI vs NZ: No Samson & Umran, Rishabh Pant set to open, Chahal & Sundar back: Follow IND vs NZ LIVE

Who will open in Wellington? –

One of the problems India faced in T20 WC was poor start. While the bunch of openers in Bay Oval are not express starters like Prithvi Shaw, they could be an upgrade to what how KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma played.

Even though Ishan has struggled at times against express pace, he is still a better option at opening than at No 3. But Laxman-Hardik will have to take the big call on who will partner with him. While Rishabh Pant is an option and opened with Kishan in his u19 days, it is unlikely that the two left handers open the batting.

That leaves India with Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill as options. Surya lit up the T20 WC at No.4 and it would be prudent to let the inform batter to continue at the same role. As for the Samson vs Gill debate, the former has the ability to take on the bowling from the get-go, will bat in the middle overs.

Suryakumar, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson have all opened for India in T20s.
While SKY has been a trusted sword at No 4, India need exuberance at the start. SKY can deliver that in the new model.
Suryakumar could be tried as an opener once again.
There has been a lot of talk about playing Rishabh Pant as an opener instead of No 5.
However, Rahul Dravid has been hesitant to disturb the top-order.
With two years left for the next T20 WC, it’s time, he breaks the opening pair and tries something new.
India struggled in T20 WC 2021 and 2022 both due to poor opening stands.
It will also give Pant a role in the team. He has been without any for a long time and the team management should establish clarity.
Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson are the two other batters who are without a specific role.
Hooda has played from opening to No 7 all slots. But he is also without role clarity.
But after an explosive batting display against Ireland, he makes a claim for opening too.
As for Sanju Samson, forget role clarity, he doesn’t even have clarity on whether he will be on the next tour.
But with selectors picking Samson for both NZ and Bangladesh tours, he will have some role clarity.
While he is a strong contender for the opening slot, he is likely to bat at No 4 in place of Surya.

India Playing XI vs NZ: No Samson & Umran, Rishabh Pant set to open, Chahal & Sundar back: Follow IND vs NZ LIVE

As for other positions, Hardik Pandya is set to play the finisher’s role. With Dinesh Karthik out of the picture, Pandya will need to establish himself as a finisher and not a middle-order anchor. Washington Sundar who has been in and out of the team due to a string of injuries will be his partner in the death.

Sundar is considered to be a long-term replacement for Ravichandran Ashwin. While he needs to deliver with the ball until Ravindra Jadeja is back in the team, he needs to let his bat speak too. He will have 2 T20s before Jadeja is back in the team to reestablish himself.

Where does Umran Malik fit in?

If the team was selected after the T20 WC, Bhuvneshwar Kumar would not have been in the team. Despite the qualities he brings in, he has been big match flop in tough bowling conditions. Wellington is one such ground where bowling extremely difficult with T20 scores

Umran Malik, who was dropped after bowling just 9 overs in international cricket, is back in the mix again. But with nothing at stake this time, he expects backing from team management. His raw pace could be his weapon. He is also developing some variations and yorkers to make it difficult for the batters. He will get his chance in the series if not the first T20.

Arshdeep Singh having established himself as a death-overs specialist will retain his spot. However, Laxman will have to make a decision on the third seamer. Mohammed Siraj and Harshal Patel are both in the team and one of them will get the spot. Both had no part to play in India’s T20 WC campaign. The team management could also take a look at Siraj instead of Bhuvneshwar.

In spin department, Yuzvendra Chahal will end his exile. Despite being considered India’s No 1 leggie, Dravid and Rohit failed to find a spot for him. But on NZ tour, he will start, keeping Kuldeep Yadav on the bench.

India’s squad for New Zealand T20Is: Hardik Pandya (C), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC and WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik