New Zealand vs India: 3 Changes India can make for NZ vs IND 3rd ODI

New Zealand vs India: After a successful T20I series win against New Zealand, India had a terrible start to their ODI series. They lost the 1st ODI against New Zealand, whereas the 2nd ODI got washed out due to rain. India has been consistently pushed to the losing half by New Zealand in this format for the last couple of years. With the home ODI World Cup just a year away, India would be keen to break that jinx. Moreover, this also presents India with a golden opportunity to test its bench strength. Let’s see the 3 possible changes that India can make for their next match against New Zealand to flex their muscles in both batting and bowling.

1. Sanju Samson to replace Rishabh Pant

India had given more than enough chances to Rishabh Pant in the limited-overs format. He is currently out of form and is struggling to find any sort of momentum. Meanwhile, Sanju Samson, one of the best white ball batters at the moment has been warming the benches for so long. He played in the 1st ODI and performed reasonably well. Despite that, he was dropped for the 2nd ODI to accommodate Deepak Hooda in the XI. Sadly this has been the case with Samson over the years. Despite averaging over 70 in this format this year, he only gets one-off games in between and gets dropped for no fault of his. So with this series now having no sort of value, India could slot in Samson for Pant for the 3rd ODI.

2.  Kuldeep Yadav to replace Chahal

Chahal has been below par-in this series. In both the T20I and ODI series, he hasn’t been able to string forward any sort of momentum. And the batsmen have found ways to take him on quite frequently. With this series having no importance and with the ODI World Cup just a year away, India could give chances to Chahal’s fellow wrist spinner, Kuldeep Yadav in the 3rd ODI. Kuldeep has an incredible record against New Zealand batters and could be more lethal than Chahal in these conditions.

3. Deepak Hooda to bowl more

Despite getting chances in the XI over Samson for being an all-rounder, Hooda hasn’t been used more often in the bowling department. India’s lack of 6th bowling option and the form Hooda showed with the ball in the T20I series, should force the management and captain to use Hooda the bowler more in the coming ODIs. This would give the Indian team much-needed balance and confidence going into the ODI World Cup next year.