New Delhi: is likely to announce the squads for the five-match ODI series and subsequent Tests against next week.
The first ODI of the series between India and New Zealand will be played on November 4 in Auckland.
According to a Times of India (TOI) report, the selectors want to look at a few players in the ongoing unofficial series between India A and Australia A. The Indian board is planning to keep an alternate team ready for the last ODI matches as the Test players are likely to prepare for the crucial two-match WTC series.
The ongoing series between India A and Australia A has given the selectors a chance to see how the ODI hopefuls perform against a quality side. A few players from this group will be selected in the ODI squad for the last two matches.
After dominating the four-day games, India suffered a 125-run defeat in the first-over match. Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Prabhsimran Singh and Suryansh Shedge failed to score runs and were dismissed by pacer Mahli Beardman.
The Western Australia fast bowler was sidelined for seven months after being diagnosed with a lumbar bone stress fracture but returned with bowling figures of 4/23. Rajat Patidar batted well and scored a fighting fifty against the Australian pacer as India A bundled out for 149 runs while chasing 275.
India’s T20I squad for New Zealand series
The BCCI has announced the Indian squad for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand, with Shreyas Iyer continuing to captain the largely unchanged team. Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has returned to the T20I setup after last featuring in November 2022.
The selectors have also announced the India A squad, which will play three multi-day matches against New Zealand A. However, there will be some changes in the India A squad as players will be rotated to prepare for the Test series.
India’s T20I squad for New Zealand series: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.