The Men in Blue faced a T20 World Cup semi-final exit in Australia but the Tasman sojourn continues with new hope as a bunch of young Indian cricketers land in New Zealand for a limited-overs tour including 3 T20Is and as many one-day internationals. While the seniors including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, and Ashwin have flown back home, the younger have landed in New Zealand for a bilateral series comprising 3 T20Is and as many One-Day Internationals.
The tour kickstarts on November 18 LIVE and exclusive on Prime Video with the T20I series in Wellington. In Rohit’s absence, Hardik Pandya will lead the side with Rishabh Pant as his deputy. In the ODIs, Shikhar Dhawan will take charge of the side with the same vice-captain.
As a part of the workload management, the selection committee has shown faith in a bunch of youngsters with the motive to groom the next batch of exciting and talented cricketers. Here’s a look at six of these who can emerge as heroes
Umran Malik: The talented youngster from Jammu & Kashmir made his debut earlier this year in Ireland after a terrific IPL season. The speed merchant has played only three games for his country so far and there has been a lot of debate around his pace and wicket-taking skills. But he created such an impact that former Chairman of Selectors Dilip Vengsarkar and Australian pacer Brett Lee opined that he should have been there in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2022. Umran has played a total of 33 T20 matches and has taken 45 wickets.
Arshdeep Singh: India’s highest wicket-taker at the T20 World Cup 2022, Arshdeep is the team’s new-found wizard with the new ball. He impressed one and all with his brilliant bowling in Australia picking up 10 wickets in six games in the showpiece event. After making his debut in England earlier this year, the left-arm quick has taken 29 wickets in 19 matches so far. His cool temperament makes him a go-to bowler in death overs and the team management has shown faith in him.
Ishan Kishan: Ishan Kishan may have missed being part of India’s T20 World Cup squad but he gets an opportunity to establish his credentials on the challenging tour to New Zealand. He can be the top-order enforcer for India and don the wicket-keeping gloves too. The young wicketkeeper-batter was initially being nurtured as Rohit Sharma’s opening partner but an impactless IPL season followed by a series of failed outings put him out of contention. But now, he is set to return to the Indian dressing room after a three-month hiatus and will be raring to go against the Kiwis. So far, he has played 19 T20Is and scored 543 runs. He also has 267 runs to his credit from 9 ODIs.
Shubman Gill: Shubman Gill pulled off a terrific show in the ODIs during the series against West Indies and Zimbabwe. He was also adjudged Man of the Series on both occasions. Moreover, Gill bagged 483 runs with a strike rate of 132.33 in the IPL 2022 season to guide Gujarat Giants to their maiden championship. The Punjab-born batter is now all set to make his debut in T20Is during the series against the Kiwis. Moreover, conditions in New Zealand are expected to be similar to that of Australia where Gill previously excelled. Although, his stellar show against the Aussies occurred in Tests. Gill’s magnificent batting, under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, tremendously worked out in IPL 2022 for Gujarat Titans. And now, only time will tell whether their fruitful chemistry will do the trick in New Zealand or not.
Kuldeep Sen: Rewa’s Kuldeep Sen is the newest entrant into the ODI set-up. The Madhya Pradesh speedster garnered attention in the IPL 2022 while representing the Rajasthan Royals. Sen’s progress under the watchful eyes of RR bowling coach Lasith Malinga has been simply remarkable. His maiden call-up comes as a reward for his heroics in the Irani Trophy where he picked up eight wickets – including a five-wicket haul – against Saurashtra. Kuldeep has played just 17 First-class games but has taken 52 wickets.
Shahbaz Ahmed: He has often rescued Royal Challengers Bangalore in crunch IPL games with his all-around skills and his consistent hard work saw him making his debut last month during the South Africa ODIs at home where he picked 3 wickets in 2 games. Before his international debut in Ranchi, Shahbaz made headlines with his spectacular performances in the Ranji Trophy 2022. He notched 482 runs in 10 innings at an impressive average of 60.25. Moreover, Shahbaz claimed 3 half-centuries and a vital century against Madhya Pradesh in the semis. Overall, he has more than 1000 runs and 62 wickets to his name in 19 first-class games.
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