T20 World Cup 2021: Virat Kohli Confirms India's New Opener For New Zealand Clash

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has confirmed that India will have a new opening pair in the 28th match of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 against Kane Williamson-led New Zealand National Cricket Team at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, October 31.

Both the teams made significant changes in the Playing XI in the high-profile game. New Zealand added speedster Adam Milne to the team in place of Tim Seifert to get much-needed balance in the bowling department. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson stated:

” We are going to bowl, dew factor at this time of the year. Look forward to another challenge. One change, Adam Milne comes in for Tim Seifert. Just to balance our bowling attack. Conway will keep.

Ishan Kishan Will Open The Innings For India – Virat Kohli

India National Cricket Team made two big changes in the playing XI as they dropped Bhuvneshwar Kumar who was having a poor run in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 and added Shardul Thakur as his replacement.

Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav is ruled out of the New Zealand clash due to a back spasm and Ishan Kishan came in as his replacement. Kohli also confirmed that Kishan will be opening the innings for India. Kohli after the toss stated:

“We would have bowled first as well. We need a solid start and have wickets in hand. It’s ridiculous, we are playing twice in 10 days. The guys have recovered well. It’s another opportunity to come out and correct the mistakes. Two changes. One forced, Surya has a back spasm, so Ishan Kishan will replace him and open the batting. Shardul Thakur replaces Bhuvi.”

India (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah

New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson(c), James Neesham, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips(w), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult

Meanwhile, New Zealand won the toss and they invited Virat Kohli and co. bat first.

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2021: In The Last Match, We Were Hurt Too Much, And That’s Why I Decided To Retire – Asghar Afghan