Senior India off-spinner R Ashwin has named his playing XI for India in the T20I series against New Zealand.
India is touring New Zealand for a three-match T20I as well as an ODI series and Ashwin has made some surprising changes to the team.
First off, Ashwin has not picked senior India pacer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, in the side along with Sanju Samson.
Ashwin revealed all of his picks on his YouTube channel recently.
He has also said that while Shubman Gill is a surety at the top for India, the second opener’s spot is open for both Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant.
At number three and four are Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav. If Pant is not given the opener’s role, he will then be batting at No.5 in the lineup.
Ashwin’s picks in the pace department are Harshal Patel, Mohammad Siraj, and Arshdeep Singh.
In the spin department, he has picked Yuzvendra Chahal to lead India’s charge with spin.
Here is what Ashwin’s XI looks like-
Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Harshal Patel, Mohammad Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, and Yuzvendra Chahal
While Hardik Pandya is the skipper of the team in the T20I series, Pant has been picked as his deputy.
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