IND vs NZ 1st T20I: India are coming off a dominant ODI (One Day International) series against New Zealand and the focus now shifts to the shortest format of the game. The T20I format. The first match will be played at the JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi. This is a three-match T20I series and Hardik Pandya's team India will try and make the most of it. The Indian Cricket team has reached Ranchi and they have begun their preparations ahead of the first match that will be played on January 27, 2023.
Ahead of the first game, there is a piece of bad news coming in for the 'Men in Blue'. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is India's white-ball opening prospect has been ruled out of the entire series as per reports published in Cricbuzz. The CSK (Chennai Super Kings) opener complained of wrist pain and as of now, he has been moved to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for his rehabilitation. The 25-year-old opening batsman was last seen in a Ranji Trophy match for Maharashtra against Hyderabad. He registered very dismal scores of 8 and 0 in the game and was quick to report to the BCCI about the condition of his wrist.
This is not the first time that Ruturaj has injured his wrist. Last year he missed a T20I game against Sri Lanka owing to the same issue. Gaikwad later tested positive for COVID and missed the home ODIs against West Indies last year. It is being said that the team management and decision-makers are pretty upset about Gaikwad and how frequently he has missed assignments. As of now, the BCCI hasn't named any replacement for Gaikwad.
Team India's squad for T20Is against New Zealand: Hardik Pandya (c), Suryakumar Yadav (vc), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Prithvi Shaw, Mukesh Kumar
