The visitors India will play the first game of the three-match ODI series against the hosts New Zealand on Wednesday (5th February) at Seddon Park (Hamilton).
It will be their first ODI meeting since the semi-final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. India lost that thrilling match by 18 runs. However, in the previous New Zealand tour in early 2019, the Men in Blue won the five-match ODI series by the 4-1 margin.
Coming back to this tour, the visitors won the five-match T20I series by the 5-0 margin. India became the first team to complete whitewash in the five-match T20I series.
New Zealand vs India 2020: Here is India’s predicted XI for the upcoming Hamilton ODI
Prithvi Shaw
While the limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma has been ruled out from the remainder of this tour due to the calf injury, the 20-year-old Prithvi Shaw can make ODI debut and open for India. Shaw is currently in great form who was also a member during the recently concluded three-match one-day series between the hosts New Zealand A and the visitors India A.
The aggressive right-handed opening batsman scored 48, 2 and 55 runs in that series. Ahead of that series, he played one tour game in List A format and scored the thrashing 150 runs off just 100 balls.
Mayank Agarwal
The opening batsman Mayank Agarwal was the late addition in the ODI team after Rohit Sharma has been ruled out due to the calf injury. He has played nine Tests but hasn’t made the debut in the limited-overs international cricket yet. Mayank is currently in New Zealand where he was already serving for India A. In the three-match one-day series between New Zealand A and India A, Mayank led the visitors in the last two games. He scored 29, 37 and 24 runs respectively in that series.
Virat Kohli (C)
In the absence of Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain Virat Kohli has to take more responsibility in batting. Though the no.1-ranked ODI batsman Kohli is currently in great form, he sometimes struggles to perform in back-to-back matches. However, in the last four ODIs, Kohli hit three half-centuries, all were 75+ scores.
Shreyas Iyer
In a very short time, Shreyas Iyer has impressed with his consistent batting skills and fixed his spot in the limited-overs playing XIs. He was the second most run-scorer (153 runs) for India in the recently concluded T20I series of this tour. This ODI series will be a test for this youngster.
Manish Pandey
As a middle-order batsman, Manish Pandey is now continuously impressing with his mature batting performances. He is easily adapting himself according to the different situations. In the T20I series of this tour, he batted in four innings, and the Kiwi bowlers failed to dismiss him for at least once. He is another Indian cricketer who can fix the spot in the limited-overs sides if he continues this attitude.
KL Rahul (wk)
The opening batsman KL Rahul is currently in outstanding form with the bat. In the recently concluded T20I series of this tour, Rahul finished as the leading run-scorer (224 runs; average 56.00) and won the Player of the Series award. He registered four 40+ scores in last five ODIs, including one century and two half-centuries. He is also handling the wicketkeeping role very well.
Ravindra Jadeja
The all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is an important member of this Indian team who provides crucial deepness in every aspect of this side. While the condition is a challenging factor for the visitors in this tour, Jadeja’s experience can play a big positive role.
Shardul Thakur
The right-arm pacer Shardul Thakur has now started to impress with his consistent performances with the ball in hand. In the five-match T20I series of this New Zealand tour, Thakur finished as the most wicket-taker (eight wickets). His aggressive batting ability is a big bonus for the Indian team.
Mohammed Shami
The right-arm fast bowler Mohammed Shami is currently in brilliant form with the ball. Though he didn’t take many wickets in the T20I series of this tour, he still impressed and snatched an impossible-looking victory during the Hamilton T20I. Shami was the Player of the Series at the end of the five-match ODI series during India tour of New Zealand in 2019.
Jasprit Bumrah
After recovering from the injury, the no.1-ranked ODI bowler Jasprit Bumrah has taken little time to return to his familiar form. The right-arm pacer was the joint second-most wicket-taker (six wickets) in the recently concluded T20I series against the hosts New Zealand. The team is expecting similar performances from him in this ODI series.
Kuldeep Yadav
The left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav hasn’t played a match on this New Zealand tour yet. The last year was very hard for him as the youngster struggled with the ball. Now, he is fighting to return to the form and get back his previous strong spot in the team.