Expected captain, with a new vice-captain

Rohit Sharma has been made the India skipper for the New Zealand T20Is. His appointment had already been hinted on several occasions by the outgoing captain Virat Kohli. India’s other opener, KL Rahul, has been appointed as the vice-captain for the team. Having donned that role last year during the tour of Australia, it appears that Rahul is being groomed for a future leadership role.

Faith reposed in the old opening order; no place for Shaw, Samson

With Rohit and Rahul leading the way, will both remain as India’s opening pair for the series too? Their back-ups come in the form of Ishan Kishan, who was a part of the T20 World Cup squad, and Ruturaj Gaikwad, a member of the IPL-winning CSK side.

Gaikwad’s selection is an interesting call, particularly as he takes his time to settle in and get going, not appearing too different from India’s present openers. This means India haven’t gone for quicker-scoring options in the form of Prithvi Shaw and Sanju Samson. While Shaw is at least a part of the India ‘A’ squad to tour South Africa, Samson hasn’t been selected for either squad.

Reward for IPL form

Several selections in the line-up have been rewarded for recent form shown in the IPL. Players who missed out on a T20 World Cup spot despite a stellar 2021 IPL find a place in this squad. These include Harshal Patel (32 wickets @ 14.34), Avesh Khan (24 wickets @ 18.75), Venkatesh Iyer (370 runs @ 41.11, 3 wickets @ 23) and Gaikwad (635 runs @ 45.35).

Venkatesh Iyer – India’s next try in the all-rounder lottery?

In the absence of Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer is all set to play the role of the fast-bowling all-round option. He packed a punch with the bat in helping KKR to the final of the 2021 IPL, though it will be interesting to see where India position the Madhya Pradesh player, given that he’s opened up for MP and KKR. It could well be that he’s the man next in line to fill India’s need for someone who can bat in the middle and also send down a few overs of pace.

The spin question

Varun Chakravarthy and Rahul Chahar don’t make it to the India squad, while Yuzvendra Chahal makes a comeback. Axar Patel also features after being named as a World Cup reserve, while Ravindra Jadeja appears to have been rested. It seems that India have gone back to old and trusted faces, with Ravichandran Ashwin remaining a part of the India T20I setup.

Who are the players to have been rested? And who have been dropped?

Eight faces from the main T20 World Cup squad haven’t been picked for the New Zealand series. While, it seems that senior players such as Jasprit Bumrah, Kohli and Jadeja have been rested to manage their workload, there is a lack of clarity on whether other players have been ‘rested’ or ‘dropped’. It is also interesting to note that Rishabh Pant, who has been on the road for months as an all-format regular, has not been granted a break.