ICC T20 World Cup 2022: India vs New Zealand Warm-up Game Cancelled After Persistent Rains

The warm-up game between India and New Zealand has been called off without a ball being bowled. Two other warm-up games between South Africa- Bangladesh and Pakistan-Afghanistan were also called off due to poor weather conditions in Brisbane.

India will now take the field on Sunday where they will lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan in Melbourne.

New Zealand, on the other hand, was coming off a tri-series final and would have been pleased with giving players an opportunity before their tournament opener against Australia after being soundly defeated by South Africa in their previous warm-up fixture.

Heavy Rain At Gabba

BCCI shared the latest update on their Twitter account, stating the cancellation of the match at Gabba due to persistent rains.

Match at The Gabba has been called off due to persistent rains. pic.twitter.com/pWSOSNBWz1

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 19, 2022

India defeated Australia by a narrow margin of six runs going into the warm-up match, while New Zealand was trounced by nine wickets. This game was extremely important for India before their match against Pakistan on October 23, as Rohit and the company wanted to perfect their preparations and starting lineup.

The Indian team also played in two warm-up games against Western Australia, winning and losing one each.

Team India Left With Unsolved Questions

Before this match, there were a lot of unsolved questions that would never be resolved. A lot of eyes would have been on Mohammed Shami, who bowled a match-winning last over in the previous warm-up game. Shami’s new ball skills and match fitness would have been tested in this game against a quality side that always does well in mega-events.

It could have been a good test for Rishabh Pant and Deepak Hooda and see who can succeed today after missing their chance in the last game. According to Sachin Tendulkar, Pant might be the left-hander who adds the necessary variation to the Indian middle order which is full of right-handed batters.

India Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami. 

Also Read: Watch: Karthik Meiyappan Takes Hat Trick vs Sri Lanka For UAE In ICC T20 World Cup 2022