NZ vs IND: 3 Players who might be benched in 1st ODI

With no major trophy in their bag for almost a decade, team India will be under tremendous pressure when they host the ODI World Cup next year. The duo of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid was brought in to deliver success in multi-nation tournaments but that definitely hasn’t been the case so far. After a humiliating defeat at the hands of England in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, the Men in Blue now with a series against New Zealand will begin their preparation for the 50-over World Cup and would look to fill in the necessary gaps to avoid any last moment hiccups before the mega tournament in 2023.

Now, despite being a part of the squad, there are three cricketers who are likely to get benched in the first ODI against New Zealand. Even though they are one of the contenders to feature for India in the next year’s World Cup, the trio is very unlikely to feature in the playing XI against the Kiwis.

3 Players who might get benched in 1st ODI

3. Kuldeep Yadav

Just like in the T20I series, Kuldeep Yadav is very likely to sit on the bench for the first ODI against New Zealand. With the availability of Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar, the left-arm spinner is currently way below the pecking order.

The 27-year-old has played 72 ODIs so far for India and picked up 118 wickets at an economy of 5.19. Along with Chahal, he was been one of the most destructive spinners for India in the past but the conditions in Eden Park at Auckland will not favour India to go with more than two spinners. 

The stadium itself is pretty small compared to other cricketing stadiums in New Zealand. Thus, even though Kuldeep can pick wickets at regular intervals, it will be a risky choice as the Kanpur-born spinner is known to leak a lot of runs. With India moving to Hamilton for the second match, the door might open for Kuldeep but for the first ODI, it’s very likely that Kuldeep will not be getting the opportunity.