New Zealand tour to India 2021 [Preview]
New Zealand is scheduled to tour India in the month of November and December to play three T20Is and two Test matches, starting from 17th November.
The three-match T20I series will be played on 17th, 19th and 21st respectively. The venues for T20Is are Jaipur, Ranchi and Kolkata. The two-match Test series will be played at venues-Kanpur and Mumbai. The opening game of the Test series will be played at Kanpur from 25th till 29th November, while the second and final game will be played at Mumbai from 3rd till 7th December.
BCCI have announced their Test, T20 squads for the home series against New Zealand. Virat Kohli has been rested for the T20I series. Rohit Sharma has been interim captain for the three-match T20I series.
Venkatesh Iyer, Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel are three unnamed players named in the T20I squad. Ruturaj Gaekwad, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammad Siraj are promising players who will be looking to make an impact in this three-match T20I series against New Zealand.
On the other hand, New Zealand announced their T20I squad for the tour of India. Captain Kane Williamson will be hoping that the side can do well in this T20I series. Kyle Jamieson, Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Adam Milne, Tim Southee and Ish Sodhi are prominent bowling options for New Zealand for the three-match T20I series.
For the two-match Test series, New Zealand announced their full-strength squad for the tour of India. In 2016, New Zealand suffered a clean sweep at the hands of India in the three-match Test series.
Devon Conway has been ruled out of the T20I series against India. He picked up a hand injury in the dressing room. Batting all-rounder Rachin Ravendra is the only uncapped player named in the Test squad. Will Young, William Somerville, Glenn Phillips and Tom Blundell are new players named in the squad for the two-match Test series.
Left-hander Devon Conway is expected to be fit and available for New Zealand for the two-match Test series.
On the other hand, India have announced their Test squad for the two-match series against New Zealand. Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested for the two-match series, while Kohli will also miss the opening Test. Ajinkya Rahane will lead India for the opening game of the Test series.
In the absence of Rohit, Virat and Pant, the side will be relying heavily on the likes of Lokesh Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara to deliver the bulk of the runs.
Shreyas Iyer, Shubnam Gill and Mayank Agarwal have been named in the Test squad for the home series. Wriddhiman Saha and Srikar Bharat are two wicket-keeping options for India for this two-match series.
Jayant Yadav and uncapped Prasidh Krishna have been named in the Test squad for New Zealand series. Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Siraj and Umesh Yadav are prominent pacers for India for this two-match series. On the other hand, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel will be prominent spinners for this two-match Test series against New Zealand.
In the bowling department, the side will be relying on the spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin to deliver crucial breakthroughs in this Test series.
There is no doubt that Umesh Yadav’s numbers in India is nothing short of sensational and is expected to play the opening Test against New Zealand.
It is interesting to see if New Zealand can push India close in this two-match Test series.
