India (IND) vs New Zealand (NZ) 1st ODI Predicted XI: Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Washington Sundar are all set to replace KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel in India’s playing XI for the series opener in Hyderabad.
In Short
- Suryakumar Yadav is expected to replace injured Shreyas Iyer in series opener
- Ishan Kishan will be part of the Indian middle-order for NZ series: Rohit Sharma
- Washington Sundar could replace Axar Patel in India’s playing XI for the 1st ODI
PosterGuy: The Indian men’s cricket team suffered an injury blow ahead of the three-match ODI series against New Zealand as Shreyas Iyer was ruled out due to a back injury. In Iyer’s absence, in-form Suryakumar Yadav is expected to spearhead India’s formidable middle-order against New Zealand in the 3-match ODI series.
Meanwhile, Indian captain Rohit Sharma confirmed that wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan will be part of the Indian middle-order in the New Zealand series. While Suryakumar played only the third One-Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka, wicketkeeper-batter Kishan was overlooked by the Indian team throughout the previous series.
Rajat Patidar, who plays for Madhya Pradesh and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, has been named as Iyer’s replacement for the match against the visiting Kiwis. Patidar has previously played in ODIs for a number of series. Aside from Rahul, Axar Patel has been given a rest for the series, and his replacement in the eleven could be Washington Sundar, who could be useful against the New Zealand camp’s left-handers.
So far, India has preferred to play a finger and a wrist spinner in each playing eleven, leaving them to choose between Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who provided crucial wickets in the middle overs in both games against Sri Lanka. Whether Kuldeep and Chahal could be played together like it used to happen five years back or whether the team management decides otherwise is there to be seen.
Chahal missed the first ODI due to a sore shoulder, but he should be available for the series opener. Siraj, Mohammad Shami, and Umran Malik will most likely be the team’s specialist pacers, with Hardik Pandya serving as the all-rounder.
New Zealand captain Tom Latham confirmed that senior spinner Ish Sodhi has been ruled out of the first ODI due to a niggle. Sodhi did turn up in the nets on Tuesday but did not bowl with the usual intensity. “Unfortunately, a niggle for Ish. He won’t be available tomorrow but fingers crossed he will be available for the next couple of games,” said Latham.
India’s predicted XI for 1st ODI vs New Zealand: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik.
New Zealand’s predicted XI for 1st ODI vs India: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (C, wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Henry Shipley, Lockie Ferguson