Indian cricketers pose with RRR star Jr NTR in Hyderabad ahead of the opening ODI against New Zealand

Several India cricketers like Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Shardul Thakur, and Yuzvendra Chahal among many others were spotted hanging out with RRR Superstar Jr NTR ahead of India’s first ODI match against New Zealand on January 18, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.

After white-washing Sri Lanka in the recently concluded three-match ODI series, the Men in Blue are now all set to host New Zealand in a white-ball series. Notably, the Kiwis have decided to rest their designated skipper Kane Williamson and players like Tim Southee, Martin Guptill and Trent Boult will also miss the series.

#TeamIndia🇮🇳 With @tarak9999 @surya_14kumar @yuzi_chahal @ishankishan51 @ShubmanGill @imShard pic.twitter.com/b6sk5AK1U5

— Being_Saiiii (@jujare_sai) January 17, 2023

While Indian cricketers posed with RRR star ahead of their ODI series opener against New Zealand, middle-order sensation Suryakumar Yadav also posted a picture with Jr NTR along with his wife Devisha Shetty.

It was so lovely meeting you, brother!
Congratulations once again on RRR winning the Golden Globe award 🤩 pic.twitter.com/6HkJgzV4ky

— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) January 17, 2023

From India’s point of view, they seem to be preparing well and are eventually building a core team for the upcoming ODI World Cup, which is scheduled to begin on October 2023. It seems, Men in Blue are not making too many changes to their squad and giving enough opportunities to players like Shubman Gill and Axar Patel, for them to get accustomed to the needs of the team.

Notably, India have already qualified by the virtue of being the host nation. Meanwhile, New Zealand are currently at the top of the ODI Super League points table with 140 points from 20 games. However, if the Men in Blue manage to get a win in the upcoming ODI series, they can topple the Kiwis and move to the top of the table.

Now, even though some of the major players are missing from the New Zealand squad, the team can prove to be dangerous. They recently defeated Pakistan 2-1 in the ODI series and would want to repeat the same against India.

India squad vs New Zealand - Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik

New Zealand squad vs India - Tom Latham (c), Finn Allen, Doug Bracewell [for Matt Henry], Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner

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