'Saini should've replaced Shardul and not Shami' - Harbhajan Singh on India's lineup against New Zealand

While the experts and supporters of Team India were speculating that Navdeep Saini would replace Shardul Thakur in the second ODI against New Zealand in Auckland on Saturday, they found Saini playing in the place of Mohammed Shami. Shardul had gone for 80 runs in his nine overs in the first game in Hamilton that India lost despite posting 347 batting first.

Former India captain Kapil Dev suggested that India should play Saini instead of Shardul in the second game but the team management decided to stick with the latter and even asked him to open the bowling. Shardul improved his figures in the match, ending with 2 for 60 in 10 overs as the Black Caps finished at 273 for 8 in 50 overs.

‘Shami has been rested to manage his workload’: Virat Kohli

Kohli, who won the toss and sent the opposition to bat, said after the coin flip that Shami has been rested for the game keeping in mind the workload he will bear in the upcoming two-Test series. The 29-year-old speedster is one of the fittest members of the Indian squad but has also been playing non-stop cricket for a while. He featured in three of the five T20Is against the Kiwis recently before playing the opening ODI.

Senior spinner Harbhajan Singh was among those who were surprised to see Shami not playing in Auckland. Speaking in a pre-match show on Star Sports, the 39-year-old said he couldn’t understand the move of not fielding Shami in the crucial match of the series. He defended the move of bringing in Saini but believed that he should have replaced Shardul and not Shami.

India made another change to their playing XI in Auckland, bringing in Yuzvendra Chahal in place of Kuldeep Yadav who failed to impress in Hamilton, conceding 84 runs for 2 wickets in 10 overs. Chahal proved to be the most successful bowler in Auckland by taking three wickets for 58 runs in 10 overs. It was Chahal’s return to the ODI set-up after six months.

New Zealand’s tail wagged in Auckland as the Kiwis added an unbeaten 76 runs for the ninth wicket through the partnership of Ross Taylor (73 not out in 74 balls) and debutant all-rounder Kylie Jamieson (25 not out off 24 balls) to take their total to 273.

Watch: Irfan Pathan’s interview post his retirement