IND vs NZ 1st T20I: Speaking in the press conference on eve of India vs New Zealand 1st T20 International, skipper Hardik Pandya confirmed that Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan will open for India in tomorrow's match and Prithvi Shaw, who was named in Indian squad after a gap of 12 months, have to wait for his comeback. Notably, Gill and Kishan had batted as openers in Ind vs SL T20 series as well.
Shubman Gill is currently in great form as he has been scoring runs aggressively in white-ball format. He scored a double ton while batting as an opener in the 1st ODI against New Zealand. After that, he was successful in scoring a century in the third ODI as well.
"Shaw will have to wait for his opportunity as Gill has done very well and was already part of the T20 team," Pandya said.
On the other hand, Prithvi Shaw has been named in the Indian squad after a year. He too is in good form as he recently played an inning of 379 runs against Assam. It is highly likely that Shaw might be named in India XI in the second or third T20 International.
Suryakumar Yadav, ICC Men's T20I cricketer of the year 2022, will be seen scoring runs in the middle order. Last year, Suryakumar scored 1164 runs in 31 T20 Internationals at an average of 46.56 and a strike rate of 187.43. In the middle order, a big innings will also be expected from Deepak Hooda.
Captain Hardik Pandya will play as an all-rounder and Washigton Sundar, who picked 6 wickets in 3 matches, consists of India's lower order.
Talking about the bowling department, senior bowlers have been rested for IND vs NZ T20I series. Fans will see young pacers Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik in the lead roles. In the spin department, there will be great expectations from Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav to deliver.