A week after being eliminated from the T20 World Cup 2022, following the loss to England in the semi-final, a second-string Indian side will take on New Zealand in a 3 T20I series followed by 3 ODIs. Hardik Pandya will lead in the T20Is and Shikhar Dhawan in the ODI while Rishabh Pant is the vice-captain for both series.
With the seniors rested, this tour is a big opportunity for players to show that they have the temperament and skillset to succeed overseas.
One such player who has been part of the Indian team setup this year, but was not included for the T20 World Cup is Sanju Samson. The Kerala and Rajasthan Royals skipper is expected to get his chances in plenty on this tour, and he should look to make the most out of it to strengthen his claim in India’s T20I side as the Asian giants start preparing a core group for the 2024 T20 WC.
Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer play no-look shots ahead of the first T20I
The first T20I against the Kiwis is slated for Friday in Wellington. On Thursday the BCCI’s Twitter handles uploaded a video of Indian batters practicing their big shots in the nets and also in the middle of the ground, simulating the match. There were fans present to watch the Indian batters and they were entertained by the likes of Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and Hardik Pandya.
Iyer and Samson even got into playing no-look shots which went a long way.
Here is the video uploaded by the BCCI where Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer hit no-look shots:
TICK..TICK..BOOM 💥💥
All charged up for the #NZvIND T20I series opener#TeamIndia 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/AsNSTeMqq8
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 17, 2022
In 6 T20Is in 2022, Sanju Samson scored 179 runs at an average of 44 and an equally good strike rate of 158.
India’s squad for New Zealand T20Is:
Hardik Pandya (C), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC and WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik
