Before the first Twenty20 international in Wellington, Hardik Pandya and Kane Williamson rode a crocodile bike

In the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who has opted to take some time off for the trip to Australia, Hardik Pandya will take charge of the team.

Beginning on Friday, November 18, in Wellington, Team India will play New Zealand in a three-match Twenty20 International series, followed by the same number of One-Day Internationals. In the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who has opted to take some time off for the trip to Australia, Hardik Pandya will take charge of the team.

Not only Rohit, but even vice-captain KL Rahul and seasoned batsman Virat Kohli have been granted a break from their batting duties. In the days leading up to the first Twenty20 International, Hardik was seen having a conversation with Kane Williamson, the captain of New Zealand, while the two were out riding “crocodile bikes” in Wellington.

On Wednesday, prior to the opening match at the Sky Stadium, both Hardik and Williamson gave interviews to various members of the press.

Hardik has stated that the series will be an excellent opportunity for younger players to demonstrate their worth to the team because many of the senior players will be rested for the tour.

“Absolutely. As you mentioned, many of the key players are not present, but on the other hand, the players who are here have also been playing for India for a good amount of one to one and a half years, which means that even they have had ample opportunities and enough time in international cricket to express themselves and demonstrate what they are capable of. Extremely thrilled for them, as they have a new group and new enthusiasm.”

India team for NZ T20Is:Hardik Pandya (C), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), W Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umran Malik.

Live coverage of India’s visit of New Zealand in 2022 is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.

The first game of the series is scheduled to begin at noon local time in Wellington on November 18, the day the series gets underway.