India squad for New Zealand tour announced; Hardik Pandya to lead in T20Is, Shikhar Dhawan named captain for ODI series

The BCCI on Monday announced the Indian squads for the upcoming tour of New Zealand. The tour comprises 3 T20Is, starting 18 November in Wellington, followed by as many ODIs. The series ends on November 30 with the final ODI at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

Hardik Pandya will lead the Indian squad in T20Is against New Zealand with Rishabh Pant being his deputy, while Shikhar Dhawan will lead Men in Blue in the ODIs against the Kiwis. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul have been rested for the New Zealand T20I and ODI series.

Also, speedsters Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik have been included in both squads.

Squad for NZ ODIs:

Shikhar Dhawan (C), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), W Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen, Umran Malik.

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 31, 2022

Notably, the last time when India toured New Zealand in 2020 they emerged victorious 5-0 in the T20I series but lost the ODI series 0-3. Virat Kohli was the captain of the Indian team during that tour. The two teams also played two-match Test series where the hosts convincingly beat India 2-0.

Meanwhile, India chief selector Chetan Sharma’s fate hangs in balance as the BCCI could soon rejig the senior panel after the T20 World Cup in Australia.

It is an open secret that Chetan and his panel’s performance and consistency in selection has been below par in recent times and unless India performs very well, it could be curtains for India’s first hat-trick man in 50 over World Cup.

Schedule of India’s tour of New Zealand 2022:

1st T20I – 18th November, Wellington

2nd T20I – 20th November, Mount Maunganui

3rd T20I – November 22nd, Napier

1st ODI – 25th November, Auckland

2nd ODI – 27th November, Hamilton

3rd ODI – 30th November, Christchurch

India T20I squad for the New Zealand tour: Hardik Pandya (C), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

India ODI squad for the New Zealand tour: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen, Umran Malik.