India vs New Zealand 1st T20I: Why is Yuzvendra Chahal Not Playing Today’s IND vs NZ first T20? Check India’s Playing 11

Yuzvendra Chahal IND vs NZ: In a crucial news development, Team India are not playing their premier leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in the first of the three T20I matches against New Zealand scheduled to be hosted at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi. The Men in Blue have kickstarted the 2023 calendar year in a perfect manner as they defeated Sri Lanka in both the T20I and ODI series at home and then also registered a staggering 3-0 whitewash against the visiting New Zealand team recently.

India vs New Zealand 1st T20I: Why is Yuzvendra Chahal Not Playing Today’s IND vs NZ first T20?

After winning the toss and opting to bowl first, Indian captain Hardik Pandya mentioned that Kuldeep Yadav is playing this first T20I game against New Zealand on Friday. This also means that right-arm leggie Yuzvendra Chahal will have to warm the bench after having played all the three T20I matches against Sri Lanka at home earlier this month. Before the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, Chahal was unavailable for selection due to a sore right shoulder. However, he played the third and final ODI against the Kiwi side where he also picked up as many as two wickets. In his T20I career so far, Chahal has taken a total of 90 wickets from 74 matches at an economy of 8.18.

“We will have a bowl first. Looks like a good track. I can see dew right now and hence we want to bowl first. Just go out there and play the best cricket we know. It is a young team. We will focus on playing good cricket. Playing the ODIs before T20Is makes it easy to pass on. For a lot of them it is an experience just being in the team. Yuzi, Mukesh, Jitesh and Prithvi miss out,” said Indian captain Hardik Pandya during the toss.

India Playing 11

1. Ishan Kishan (wk)
2. Shubman Gill
3. Rahul Tripathi
4. Suryakumar Yadav
5. Hardik Pandya (C)
6. Deepak Hooda
7. Washington Sundar
8. Shivam Mavi
9. Arshdeep Singh
10. Kuldeep Yadav
11. Umran Malik

India vs New Zealand 2023 Schedule