The Indians would look to improve on their overall T20I record against the Kiwis which reads a dismal 3 wins and 8 losses from 11 games. The Indians who have been at the top of their game in the Test and ODI formats over the past few seasons have been blowing hot and cold in the shortest format of the game. The hard fought T2oI series wins against Bangladesh and West Indies would have surely boosted the confidence of Kohli and Co. but playing on the seam friendly tracks in New Zealand will be a different ball game together.
The 'Men in Blue' would be without the services of their seasoned opener Shikhar Dhawan who has been ruled out due to a shoulder injury. Wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson replaced Dhawan in the T2OI squad. With all-rounder Hardik Pandya recuperating from injury at the National Cricket Academy, budding all-rounder Shivam Dube has been picked to fill in as the seam all-rounder.
With MS Dhoni once again overlooked for selection, the wicket-keeping duties will be shared by KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. There havent been too many changes to rest of the squad with most of the seasoned campaigners getting a look into the team.
With the ICC World T20 just 6 months away from now and the conditions pretty similar to what they could play in Australia, youngsters like Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini and Sanju Samson have a opportunity to lay a claim into the team which will fly Down Under for the showpiece event.
Here is the Full Schedule for the India vs New Zealand T2OI Series
1st T20I - Jan 24, Eden Park, Auckland
2nd T20I Jan 26, Eden Park, Auckland
3rd T20I - Jan 29, Seddon Park, Hamilton
4th T20I- Jan 31, Westpac Stadium, Wellington
5th T20I - Feb 02, Sun Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
India's T20I squad: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), Sanju Samson, K.L. Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur.