Harbhajan Singh predicts India to win T20I series against New Zealand 2-1

India and New Zealand will be facing each other on November 17 in the first of the three-match T20I series. It is a quick turnaround for New Zealand especially having played the final of the T20 World Cup on November 14. India, on the other hand, were knocked out in the Super 12 stage itself and played their last game against Namibia on November 8.

Nevertheless, with the next T20 World Cup only 11 months away, both teams will be looking to do well in the build up to the next year’s event. Some exciting cricket will definitely be played over the course of three T20Is and India cricketer Harbhajan Singh reckons it will be a close series.

However, he has backed the hosts India to win the series by a margin of 2-1. “2-1. This is what I am predicting against New Zealand. India winning the series 2-1,” Harbhajan said while speaking to Star Sports. The off-spinner also picked Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav as players to watch out for.

He felt Kishan will be crucial for India going forward and might play a huge role in the next World Cup. He also backed Surya to get consistent chances to prove his mettle and felt his ability to play 360 Degree shots will be important for the team.

India start new era while NZ to miss their skipper

Meanwhile, a day before the opening T20I, New Zealand have confirmed that their skipper Kane Williamson will miss the whole series to focus on the Test series against India starting from November 25. Tim Southee is set to lead the BlackCaps in the T20I with only 13 players available to be picked.

As far as India is concerned, it is the start of a new era with Rohit Sharma taking over as full-time captain for the first time. This is also the first assignment of new head coach Rahul Dravid and his support staff is expecting to join him soon as well. It remains to be seen if the Men in Blue will live up to the expectations and win the series the way Harbhajan Singh has predicted.