India vs New Zealand: India's strongest predicted playing XI for T20I series

The T20 World Cup didn’t go the way India wanted it to after they lost against Pakistan and New Zealand on the trot. The remaining victories against Scotland, Namibia, and Afghanistan were not enough for them to climb up the points table. Hence they had to return to India after their last Super 12 match. However, the Indian contingent doesn’t have much of a rest to reboot. The India vs New Zealand T20I series starts on the November 17 and senior players like Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Ravindra Jadeja have been rested. The Indian dressing room would look different hereafter after the contract of Ravi Shastri and his coaching team came to an end. Former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid was appointed as the head coach of the Indian side. Earlier, Virat Kohli officially announced his withdrawal from T20I captaincy and Rohit Sharma has been named as the skipper of the side along with KL Rahul as his deputy. The BCCI has already named the squad for the T20I series. In the article, let’s take a look at Team India’s strongest predicted playing XI for T20I series: 1. Rohit Sharma (C) Rohit Sharma. (Photo by AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images) Rohit Sharma, fondly known as the ‘Hitman’, is the new captain of the Indian T20I side. After Virat resigned from T20I captaincy, the first choice without any thoughts, was the 34-year-old former vice-captain. Rohit has been a successful T20 captain and we have seen his records in the IPL. He has helped the Mumbai Indians lift the IPL trophy five times. His batting skills are exceptional and he is expected to lead the Indian team with efficiency as well. Coming from a blistering form in the latter half of the T20 World Cup, along with his responsibility of captaincy, all eyes would be on him. 2. KL Rahul KL Rahul. (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images) KL Rahul has now been given the responsibility as a vice-captain. His contributions to the team in recent years across all the formats have been thumping. Once he gets into his rhythm, his majestic batting could be admired forever without any doubts. Rahul is currently in sweltering form after scoring three consecutive half-centuries in the T20 World Cup with his strike-rate being over 143 in all three innings against Afghanistan, Scotland, and Namibia. His position to open the batting along with Rohit has worked well for the team since Shikhar Dhawan’s exclusion. 3. Suryakumar Yadav Suryakumar Yadav. (Photo by Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images) Considering his consistent performances in IPL over the years, the elegant Suryakumar Yadav was given his maiden chance to represent the T20I side in 2021 against England. He has cemented his spot since then. He has played eight T20I matches and has scored 181 runs with an extraordinary average of 45.25 and a strike rate of 163.06. Surya has the special ability to anchor the inning due to his aggressive and innovative batting. He has the capability to hit all around the ground. His longing urge to represent the country has been evident through his consistent performances. He might take up the number three position in the absence of Virat in this series. 4. Shreyas Iyer Shreyas Iyer. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Shreyas Iyer is one of the successful middle-order batters of the Indian side in the T20 format. Iyer has a good technique and can time and place the ball perfectly. He has been a sheet anchor to the Indian side if wickets fall at the other end and has the ability to pick the gaps precisely. This 26-year-old was selected as a reserve player in the T20 World Cup 2021. In his 28 T20I matches, Iyer has scored 550 runs with a strike rate of 133.82. He last played for India against England and was injured after that. He had a good form in the IPL and is hopeful of making a comeback in the playing eleven against New Zealand. 5. Rishabh Pant Rishabh Pant’s fifty. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/Getty Images) Rishabh Pant, the successor of the legendary wicketkeeper MS Dhoni, has turned out to be a sparkling player for the team. His explosive and fearless batting could demolish any team’s bowlers. Initially, he felt the heat of replacing the legend and he couldn’t perform to his talent. But later, after the team backed him and once he settled into the side, his stature has been different. His left-handed style of batting, along with his wicketkeeping skills makes him one of the players who cannot be left out from the squad. He didn’t get much of a chance to bat in the T20 World Cup except against Pakistan (where he scored 39 runs) and New Zealand. It is also to be noted that, he was in good touch in the IPL as well prior to the T20 WC. 6. Venkatesh Iyer Venkatesh Iyer. (Photo Source: Twitter/IPL) Venkatesh Iyer has received his maiden call to represent India against New Zealand in the T20I series. He has been awarded the national call-up for his glorious form in the IPL. He is a batting all-rounder who can hit the ball well and can bowl some handy medium-pace too. Venkatesh was the shining start for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. He debuted in the second phase of the IPL this year and here he is now after just playing 10 matches in the T20 tournament. He scored 370 runs with a strike rate of 128.47 in the IPL. He emerged as one of the best finds of the tournament. With Hardik being axed/rested, Iyer could be the apt replacement for him. 7. Axar Patel Axar Patel. (Photo Source: BCCI) Axar Patel, the left-handed bowling all-rounder, has been selected in the squad and most probably will feature in the first playing 11. He debuted for the Indian T20I side in 2015 and has played a total of 12 games, picking up nine wickets with an economy of 6.88. This orthodox-spinner is a well-known name in the IPL but was not provided a chance, as there was a better all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja. But now, as his ally Jadeja has been rested for this series, Axar might get a chance to play in the eleven considering his decent performance in the IPL. 8. Ravi Ashwin Ravichandran Ashwin. (Photo by AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images) The year 2021 has been a memorable one for the veteran player Ravi Ashwin, as he got his first chance in four years to represent the blues in the limited-overs format. He was included in the T20 World Cup squad this year for his valuable experience in the format. He made a comeback in the match against Afghanistan in this T20 WC and has been praised for his performances since then. He bowled 12 overs in three matches and took six wickets with an economy of 5.23. With his impressive performance, he marked his return to the limited-overs format for which he has been named in the T20 squad again. 9. Deepak Chahar Deepak Chahar. (Photo Source: Twitter) Deepak Chahar is a medium-fast bowler who can swing the ball effectively and has the ability to take early wickets in the powerplay. Chahar is also a handy batter who could hit some runs while batting in the lower order. He was named as a reserve player in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup. He debuted for India in 2018 and has played 14 T20I matches and has taken 20 wickets with an economy of 7.59. He is set to make a comeback after winning the IPL with CSK. His morale would be fairly high. He can be chosen ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar whose performance was inferior in the IPL and T20 WC. 10. Yuzvendra Chahal Yuzvendra Chahal. (Photo Source: Twitter) Yuzvendra Chahal is a right-arm leggie whose googlies are very effective in the shortest format of the game. He debuted in 2016 and since then, he has been India’s go-to spinner. He was expected by the fans to play the T20 World Cup, but his ally spinner Rahul Chahar was picked ahead of him. He was left out from the squad as his recent outings with India turned out to be a tad lacklustre. But he proved his class by taking 18 wickets in 15 matches for RCB in IPL this year. But still, he did not make it to the final Indian squad for the T20 WC. Nevertheless, he got a reward for his performance in IPL by making it to the series against New Zealand. 11. Mohammed Siraj Mohammed Siraj with the T20I series trophy. (Photo Source: Twitter) Mohammed Siraj is a right-arm-fast-medium bowler who can bowl at a consistent pace. He debuted for the Indian T20I side in 2017 against New Zealand and has just played three matches, grabbing three wickets with an extremely expensive economy of 12.33. The speedster last played in a T20I back in 2018 and hasn’t represented the team since then. But now, he is totally a refined bowler and his performance in IPL has earned him a recall to the Indian T20I side again. He finished this IPL with 11 wickets at a decent economy of 6.78.

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