IND vs NZ: "Tests Or Any Other Formats, New Zealand Are Not Looking The Same Team They Were Earlier" - Aakash Chopra

New Zealand will lock horns with Team India in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Saturday, January 21, and will be hoping to win the match to keep the series alive. Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that the Black Caps are not as strong a side across formats as they used to be.

The Tom Latham-led side fell short by 12 runs in the run chase in the first ODI at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday, January 18.

The visitors lost six wickets for just 131 runs, but Michael Bracewell impressed with a brilliant century to keep the match alive. Bracewell scored 140 off just 78 balls, but it was not enough for his team to win the match.

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New Zealand Have Gone Down In The Last 12 Months – Aakash Chopra

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said that New Zealand can be a good side with strength, but their graph has been declining over the past year. The former Indian opener believes that the New Zealand side has slightly become weaker with the absence of Kane Williamson, Tim Southee, and Trent Boult.

“New Zealand have gone down in the last 12 months. You can see Tests or any other formats, they are not looking like the same team they were earlier. Not a great sign. Their bowling is still good if they come with full strength. They have players in batting as well but it is not the full team,” Aakash Chopra said.

“The New Zealand team is slightly weak because they don’t have Tim Southee and Kane Williamson has also not come. No one is giving that much importance to the bilateral series, which is slightly sad. Everyone is managing workload and Trent Boult is playing ILT20,” he added.

New Zealand won the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series against Pakistan 2-1 before the white-ball series against India. The team management rested their senior players like Williamson and Southee, who were part of that series against Pakistan, for the limited overs series against the Men in Blue.