With the 20-20 World Cup 2022 coming to an end on November 13, Sunday, and with England emerging as the champions, all teams are back to their normal, to take part in respective bilateral series. India, whose campaign ended against the Three Lions on Thursday, will take on New Zealand for a three-match T20I series starting on November 18.
The Men in Blue, under the leadership of Hardik Pandya, will take part in the series and VVS Laxman, the former Indian cricketer is all set to coach India in the absence of Rahul Dravid, who will be given a rest after a hectic multinational tournament schedule.
Much to the stupefaction of the Kiwi fans, their prime bowler Trent Boult was left out of the squad for both the T20I series and the ODI series. When asked about the same, their head coach Gary Stead said that with the pacer opting out of the central contract, the priority was rather given to those who are a part of it.
India are a world-class side: Gary Stead
The head coach of the Black Caps further claimed that the emergence of Fin Allen as the top-order batter has forced them to leave out Martin Guptill. Further, Stead said that with the 50-over World Cup set to take place in India in 2023, they wanted to try out Allen against a quality side like India.
“When Trent opted out of his NZC contract in August, we indicated that priority would be given to those players with either central or domestic contracts, and that’s been the case here. We’re all aware of Trent’s world-class ability, but at this time – as we build towards more global events, we want to give opportunities and experiences to others,” Stead was quoted as saying in the statement released by New Zealand Cricket (NZC).
“The emergence and success of Finn at the top of the order in white-ball cricket means a guy of the class of Martin Guptill misses out – that’s just the nature of the high-performance sport. There’s always an incredible buzz when India comes to town. The energy and noise is incredible and I know the team are really looking forward to getting back and playing in front of some big home crowds. India are a world-class side stacked with stars and we know we’ll have to be right at the top of our game,” said the Black Caps coach further.
