After defeating Australia by 4-1 in the recently-concluded ODI series, Virat Kohli and his cogs are raring to lock horns with New Zealanders for a 3-match ODI series starting in Mumbai on October 22.
Batsman KL Rahul and pacers Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav have been dropped from the squad while wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik and pacer Shardul Thakur have been able to get in.
There are a couple of positions in the team that are up for grabs and few players are already fighting to make them their own. Let us take a look at India’s playing XI for the first ODI of the series.
Without a doubt, India will be going with the best opening combination in ODIs i.e., none the most successful combination of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan has been Rohit’s first-choice opening partner and the southpaw has been in great form, scoring heavily in the Champions Trophy and in Sri Lanka. However, Ajinkya Rahane, who opened the innings with Rohit against West Indies and Australia, has amassed runs in pretty consistent basis.
The no. 4 batting position is also up for grabs and in recent times Manish Pandey has been trying his best to make it his own, but now he has a competition as strong as Dinesh Karthik for that position. Considering Virat’s earlier approaches it seems that he will give Pandey a couple of more chances to prove his worth.
It was around this time in 2016, when Kedar Jadhav had proven his worth as one of India’s bowling options. He took wickets at will against the New Zealand line-up last year and once again, is set to take on the same opposition.
Over the last few months, Hardik Pandya has been playing a crucial role of an all-rounder in the team. He is not only taking wickets but also scoring some crucial runs in crunch situations for team India.
After a very long time, India has got a stabled fast-bowling pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, who can bowl beautifully both with the new and the old ball with similar consistency. However, it might be possible that Shardul Thakur might get a game in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar due to his express pace and after all, Bhuvi also needs some rest.
Indian pacer will get the apt support of the young wrist-spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav who wrecked havoc in Sri Lanka and Australia series.
India’s Probable XI: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal and Jasprit Bumrah.
