After crashing out from the T20 World Cup 2022, Team India will fly to New Zealand for a white-ball bilateral series comprising three T20Is and as many One-Day Internationals. While the seniors have headed back home, Hardik Pandya will take charge of the team in the shortest format and Shikhar Dhawan will lead in the ODIs.
The New Zealand tour will witness the return of pace sensation Umran Malik who made his international debut earlier this year. Young Madhya Pradesh pacer Kuldeep Sen, who has been named in the ODI squad, will also ply his trade if given a chance.
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Former India pacer and 2011 World Cup winner Zaheer Khan feels that the series against New Zealand would turn out to be a great learning experience for Umran and Kuldeep.
“This is going to be a super exciting series. I am very keen to see how the tearaway Umran Malik will perform on these pitches. This tour would be a great learning experience for him and Kuldeep Sen. The New Zealand pitches have traditionally assisted the pacers and they will make the difference between the fortunes of the two teams,” Zaheer was quoted as saying by Prime Video.
Zaheer will be a part of the Hindi commentary team for India’s white-ball tour of New Zealand, alongside Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Ajay Jadeja, Mohammed Kaif and Vivek Razdan. He further cautioned India’s bowling attack to plan their strategies very well as Wellington, the hosts for the T20I series opener, has a reputation for being very windy.
“And a big word of caution to all pacers touring New Zealand for the first time, watch out for the heavy breeze in Wellington, it is tough to run against it and may disrupt your rhythm. Similarly, if you are running with the wind, you may end up being pushed by it, so be prepared for these unique conditions as you plan your attack,” he added.
Umran and Sen caught the eye of the cricketing world with their high speeds and scalps during the 2022 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
(With Agency Inputs)
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