New Zealand and India will be kick-starting a three-match T20I series in Hamilton in less than 72 hours from now. Both the losing semi-finalists of ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia taking part in a bilateral series after a week doesn’t speak highly about scheduling of international cricket but the nature of beast is such.
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The hosts announced a 13-member T20I squad earlier in the day adding no new player to their World Cup squad. India, on the other hand, have made as many as eight changes to the squad which had represented them in the world event. As a result, don’t be surprised if you don’t see the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli playing in New Zealand later this month.
It is worth mentioning that changes haven’t been just restricted to cricketers but members of the support staff have also been given a break after T20 World Cup 2022. It was on Friday that the likes of Rahul Dravid (head coach), Vikram Rathour (batting coach), Paras Mhambrey (bowling coach) and T. Dilip (fielding coach) were relieved of their respective duties for the forthcoming tour.
Former India batter VVS Laxman, who currently heads the NCA (National Cricket Academy) in Bengaluru, will be replacing Dravid as the head coach in New Zealand. For the unversed, Laxman had played a similar role during the tours of Ireland and Zimbabwe and a home series against South Africa earlier this year.
As far as the specialized coaches are concerned, former Indian cricketers Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Sairaj Bahutule will assist Laxman as batting and bowling coaches respectively. With Abhay Sharma currently part of the Indian Women’s team, Munish Bali will travel to New Zealand as a fielding coach.
New coach of Indian cricket team for New Zealand tour
Head coach – VVS Laxman
Batting coach – Hrishikesh Kanitkar
Bowling coach – Sairaj Bahutule
Fielding coach – Munish Bali
