Team India will have a point to prove as they host New Zealand in their upcoming assignment. The tour comprises three T20Is and a couple of Test matches, starting from November 17. Having endured a horrendous campaign in the T20 World Cup 2021, the Men in Blue would be raring to redeem themselves. However, the Kiwis won’t go easy on them by any means.
India got knocked out of the league stage of the gala tournament, having suffered humiliating defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand respectively. With the next T20 World Cup being less than a year away, the Indian team have the onus of forming a formidable squad to avoid another dismal campaign. Notably, Virat Kohli has stepped down as India’s T20I captain and Rohit Sharma has taken over the charge.
Also, Rahul Dravid has replaced Ravi Shastri as the side’s head coach. Hence, a new era in Indian cricket is set to get underway. Speaking of the Indian team, there are various notable absentees both in the T20I and Test series. While Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Shami have been rested for the T20I series, the likes of Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant won’t feature in Test matches.
As far as New Zealand are concerned, Devon Conway’s absence could hurt them big time. After all, the southpaw has emerged as a vital cog of the New Zealand team across formats. Also, Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme have opted out of the Test series citing bio-bubble fatigue. Nevertheless, there are still several prominent players in the side who can be match-winners on any day
| India T20I | New Zealand T20I |
| Rohit Sharma (c) | Kane Williamson (c) |
| KL Rahul | Todd Astle |
| Ruturaj Gaikwad | Trent Boult |
| Shreyas Iyer | Mark Chapman |
| Suryakumar Yadav | Devon Conway |
| Rishabh Pant(wk) | Lockie Ferguson |
| Ishan Kishan | Martin Guptill |
| Venkatesh Iyer | Kyle Jamieson |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | Daryl Mitchell |
| R Ashwin | James Neesham |
| Axar Patel | Glenn Phillips |
| Avesh Khan | Mitchell Santner |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | Tim Seifert (wk) |
| Deepak Chahar | Ish Sodhi |
| Harshal Patel | Tim Southee |
| Mohd. Siraj |
| India Test Squad | New Zealand Test Squad |
| Ajinkya Rahane(c) | Kane Williamson (c) |
| KL Rahul | Tom Blundell |
| Mayank Agarwal | Daryl Mitchell |
| Cheteshwar Pujara | Kyle Jamieson |
| Shubman Gill | Tom Latham |
| Shreyas Iyer | Henry Nicholls |
| Wriddhiman Saha | Glenn Phillips |
| KS Bharat | Rachin Ravindra |
| Ravindra Jadeja | Mitchell Santner |
| R. Ashwin | Will Somerville |
| Axar Patel | Tim Southee |
| Jayant Yadav | Ross Taylor |
| Ishant Sharma | Will Young |
| Umesh Yadav | Neil Wagner |
| Md. Siraj | |
| Prasidh Krishna | |