IND vs NZ T20: Full Squads, Strengths & Weaknesses of Team India and New Zealand

After an exhausting and disappointing T20 World Cup campaign, the Indian team are set to face New Zealand in a three-match T20I series. The India vs New Zealand series will take place from November 17 to 21. This series is set to mark the beginning of a new era under new full-time captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid after former T20 skipper Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri stepped down from their respective positions.

With most of the players of the Men in Blue team having been inside a bio-bubble for nearly five months now, the selectors have chosen to rest several players for the upcoming bilateral series. With fans set to see several new faces on the Indian side, here is a look at the IND vs NZ T20 full squads, and an analysis of the teams' strengths and weaknesses.

IND vs NZ T20 full squads

India National Cricket Team: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj

New Zealand Cricket Team: Kane Williamson (captain), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi and Tim Southee

India vs New Zealand: Strengths and weaknesses of both teams

India National Cricket Team

Strengths

1. Openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul found some excellent form towards the end of the T20 World Cup campaign after initial struggles against Pakistan and New Zealand. In the last three matches against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia, Rahul scored 69, 50 and 54 respectively. On the other hand, Rohit scored 74, 30 and 56 respectively.
2. R Ashwin was in fine form as he picked up six wickets in just three matches. Meanwhile, the comeback of Yuzvendra Chahal in the T20I squad should improve the depth in the spinning department.
3. Several players arrive into this series on the back of the outstanding form in the IPL. Harshal Patel ended the tournament as the highest wicket-taker with 32 wickets. Meanwhile, opener Ruturaj Gaikwad ended IPL 2021 as the highest run-scorer with 635 runs in 16 matches. Avesh Khan was also impressive as he picked up 24 wickets in 16 matches.

Weaknesses

1. The Indian National Cricket Team has opted for five opening batters, thereby compromising on their middle order. The selectors have opted for four recognized middle-order batters (Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel). This means that if any of them are dropped due to poor form, they may need to play one of their opening batters in a position alien to them.
2. The Indian fast bowling attack is relatively inexperienced as only Bhuvneshwar Kumar has 50+ T20I matches. Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel are making their international debuts, whereas Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Siraj have just played 14 and three T20Is respectively.

New Zealand Cricket Team

Strengths

1. Trent Boult's impressive form throughout the T20 World Cup has been a major boost for New Zealand as he has picked up 11 wickets in just six matches. The only match he failed to pick up a wicket was against England in the semi-finals.
2. The New Zealand Cricket Team's top order has been extremely impressive as at least one of the opening batters have provided a good start to the team. Other than the last match against England, Martin Guptill has gotten to double figures in every game. His highest score was 93 of just 56 deliveries against Scotland. Meanwhile, Daryl Mitchell has gotten to double figures every match and has scored two 30+ scores against India and England respectively.

Weaknesses

1. Although New Zealand has had an outstanding T20 World Cup campaign and there seem to have been few weaknesses in their squad, they do seem to lack a good finisher to the innings. On several occasions after a decent start to their innings, the Blackcaps have failed to get to a big score. The match against Scotland is an outstanding example as Guptill helped New Zealand get off to an excellent start, but the middle order failed to carry on the momentum. Glenn Phillips scored just 33 runs off 37 deliveries at a strike rate of less than 100. Meanwhile, the next highest scorer in the middle order was James Neesham with 10 runs of six balls.