India Announces T20 Squad for New Zealand Tour, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Makes Comeback
Indias T20 squad for the New Zealand tour features Bhuvneshwar Kumars return and includes a new captain, Shreyas Iyer.
New Delhi, October 6 (Daily Kiran) : The Indian men’s selection committee has unveiled the T20 squad for the upcoming tour of New Zealand. India will compete in five T20 matches against the host nation, while the India-A team is set to play three multi-day matches against New Zealand-A. Announcements regarding the ODI and Test squads will follow later.
Shreyas Iyer will lead the T20 team, with Vaibhav Sunil serving as the vice-captain. Notably, spinner Ravi Bishnoi has been dropped from the squad.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, aged 36, is making his return to the T20 side. His last appearance in this format was in November 2022 in New Zealand. After two impressive IPL seasons with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he has earned his spot back on the national team. Although he was recently appointed captain for the Hong Kong Sixes, he will miss that tournament due to his inclusion in the T20 squad.
Another significant change is the return of Varun Chakravarthy, who is back after recovering from a side strain that sidelined him following the first T20 against Afghanistan last month. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will not participate, as he is expected to play a crucial role in the ODI and Test series.
The first T20 match between the two teams is scheduled for October 22 in Christchurch, followed by another match at the same venue on October 24. The teams will then head to Wellington for the third T20 on October 27, before matches in Auckland on October 30 and Hamilton on November 1.
India’s T20 squad includes: Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper), Vaibhav Sunil, Ishan Kishan (Wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma (Vice-Captain), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dheer, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy, and Kuldeep Yadav.
Meanwhile, the selectors have also named a 15-member India-A team for the three multi-day matches against New Zealand-A. This will provide several players with valuable red-ball cricket experience ahead of the Test series. Dhruv Jurel has been appointed captain, with Rishabh Pant’s availability contingent on his fitness.
India-A’s first multi-day match against New Zealand-A will take place from October 24-27 in Lincoln. The second match is scheduled for October 31 to November 3 in Christchurch, while the third match will be held from November 7-10 in Lincoln.
The India-A team comprises: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rishabh Pant* (Wicketkeeper), Dhruv Jurel (Captain/Wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Aakib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Chaudhary, Sai Sudharsan, Yash Rathod, and Mukesh Kumar.
