IND Vs NZ: These Indian Players Should Have been Part of India Tour of New Zealand 2022

India Tour of New Zealand 2022 started off with an abandoned game at Wellington. Now the second match of this three-match series of the shortest format will be played on Sunday, 20th November 2022. We have named five Indian players in today’s segment who should have been part of this limited-overs series.
India Tour of New Zealand 2022
India Tour of New Zealand 2022Image Credit: AFP

India didn’t have a T20 World Cup 2022 to remember. Very few players had performed well in that ICC mega event Down Under. Virat Kohli played some greatest knocks in the tournament and also amassed the highest runs for the mem in blue side.

Suryakumar Yadav was another Indian player who had impressed one and all. His range of strokes and ability to play well under crunch situations made him a stand-out batter from the Indian side. 

SKY scored the second-highest runs for India in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. But he failed to perform well in the must-win semi-final match against England. Still, his knock against South Africa at Perth was the best for a losing cause.

Arshdeep Singh had played his first world cup tournament of the shortest format. He had bagged the most scalps for India in this edition of the T20 WC.

Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep SinghImage Credit: Twitter

Singh was good with the new ball and gave India some vital wickets in the powerplay overs. While Mohammed Shami handled the middle overs and backend overs well.

But India needed some performances from the below-mentioned players, at least in the semi-final match. These players were expected to take India through their second title win.

Now, these players are not in the squad of India Tour of New Zealand 2022. They showed poor form in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia and so today we name five players who should be in the squad for the limited-overs series against The Kiwis.

India Tour of New Zealand 2022
Virat Kohli and his Love Affair with Adelaide Oval

Rohit Sharma

The Indian skipper and opener, Hit Man gave a flop show in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. Despite his poor form, he went on to play all six matches and India couldn’t get a decent start in that tournament.

Rohit scored just one half-century and that was a scratchy one against the Netherlands. He is not a part of the India Tour of New Zealand 2022 squad. 

Rohit Sharma
Rohit SharmaImage Credit: IANS

But in our opinion, Rohit Sharma should have been there. He will travel to Bangladesh for ODIs, and Test series and opted out of playing against a strong side like New Zealand.

The selectors should have told the skipper to play this series and regain some form. He could have easily taken a rest against Bangladesh. Sharma scored just 116 runs at an average of 19.33 in six games of T20 WC 2022.

KL Rahul

India couldn’t get a decent start even once in the T20 World Cup 2022 because both of their openers were not in good nick. But still, they kept getting that backing which hurt the team at last.

Rahul is equally responsible for letting down in this T20 WC. Although, he scored two back-to-back half-centuries in the tournament. But those fifties came against poor opposition like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. 

KL Rahul is also missing from the squad of the India Tour of New Zealand 2022
KL Rahul is also missing from the squad of the India Tour of New Zealand 2022Image Credit: Twitter

Even KL Rahul is missing from the squad of the India Tour of New Zealand 2022 and he will also travel to Bangladesh. He had performed well in the T20I series and warm-up match against Australia.

But he couldn’t transfer the form in the league stages and semi-final match against England. In the six matches of the T20 World Cup 2022, KL scored just 128 runs at an average of 21.33 and a strike rate of 120.75.

Dinesh Karthik

India never got the finishing kick in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. Dinesh Karthik had shown a lot of promise in the IPL and T20I series. But he failed to match that up in the ICC Mega event Down Under.

Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik

India reached to a decent score mainly because of Kohli and Suryakumar in the league stage and Hardik in the semis. 

But DK, the finisher never arrived. He was selected for his extraordinary shorts in the backend overs. Unfortunately, the veteran keeper batter could score just 14 runs in this event in Australia.

DK plays only the shortest format for the men in blue and he should have been included in this T20I series against New Zealand. Is the Time up for Karthik in Indian colours?

Axar Patel

The spin-bowling all-rounder was included as the like-for-like replacement of Ravindra Jadeja. But Axar didn’t live up to that expectation. He leaked runs in the first match of the T20 World Cup 2022 against Pakistan and he was also dropped against South Africa. He should have been named in the limited-overs series tour of New Zealand. 

Spin bowling all-rounder of the Indian team Axar Patel
Spin bowling all-rounder of the Indian team Axar PatelImage Credit: Getty

Like Rohit and Rahul, Axar too will play against Bangladesh in the ODI and Test series. Patel had shown poor form and a lack of rhythm in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.

He had picked up just three wickets in this tournament. Playing against a stronger side like New Zealand would have helped him more and also boosted his confidence. 

Ravichandran Ashwin

The veteran all-rounder from Tamil Nadu, Ravichandran Ashwin, too has been included in this list as the last player who should have played in the limited-overs series against New Zealand.

Ash is an experienced spin bowler and he was also part of the 2021 T20 World Cup where India had an early exit.

Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran AshwinImage Credit: AP

In this T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, Ash picked up just six wickets which are not great as the high standards set by him. A lot was at stake for Ashwin in this event and now many experts also feel that this T20 WC would be his last.

India Tour of New Zealand 2022
Winners of T20 World Cup from 2007-2021

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