Former India skipper MS Dhoni made a special visit during the Team's training session on Saturday in Ranchi, his hometown. India is set to face New Zealand in the opener of the three-match T20I series on January 27.
In a video shared by BCCI on their Twitter handle, Dhoni was seen sipping coconut water and talking with skipper Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, and other players of the team. MS also met the team staff including the Indian fielding coach T Dilip.
"Mahi bhai is here which is good as we get to meet him. We can get out of the hotel also (to meet him). Otherwise, the way we have played in the last one month, it has just been hotel to hotel. And when we meet we try to talk about life rather than the game. When we played together I learnt a lot from him. I have squeezed a lot out of him (knowledge)," Hardik said.
Earlier, Pandya had posted a picture with MS Dhoni at his residence in Ranchi. In the photo, both of them were seen posing on Dhoni's bikes and “Sholay 2 coming soon,” read the caption.
This will be the eighth T20 series between India and New Zealand. Before this, both teams faced each other in the T20 series a total of seven times. Team India has won the series four times while New Zealand has won the T20 series three times against India.
Results of previous 7 T20 series between India and New Zealand
- 2008–09: New Zealand won 2–0
- 2012: New Zealand won 1-0
- 2017–18: India won 2–1
- 2018–19: New Zealand won 2–1
- 2019-20: India won 5-0
- 2021-22: India won 3-0
- 2022: India won 1-0
India's T20I squad:
Hardik Pandya (c), Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, 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
New Zealand's T20I squad:
Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Dane Cleaver (wk), Devon Conway (wk), Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Lister, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rippon, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner
Also Read:
IND vs NZ, 1st T20I: Pitch Report to Records - Here's everything to know about JSCA International Stadium
IND vs NZ 1st T20I: India brace for T20I series against New Zealand
