IND vs NZ: "Trent Boult, Tim Southee's Absence Leaves Massive Hole Ahead of 1st ODI" - Tom Latham

New Zealand Cricket Team is all set to clash against the invincible Indian Cricket Team for the 1st ODI on 18th February (Wednesday). New Zealand is missing quite a few players in the form of Trent Boult & Jimmy Neesham who have given preference to franchise cricket instead of the national cricket team.

India has been dealt with a massive blow as Shreyas Iyer is ruled out of the series due to a back injury. Shreyas has been scoring runs on a consistent basis in the last 1 year. The batter surprisingly had a topsy-turvy Sri Lanka ODI Series where he couldn’t convert the start.

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Tom Latham on Squad

Tom Latham was seen attending the pre-match press conference and was asked about the squad. “They (Boult, Southee, Williamson) are not in the side and that leaves a massive hole for us. On the other hand, it presents an opportunity for other guys who have been around the squad. Everyone has played international cricket in the squad which is a bonus. It is their turn to step up. Lucky we have Lockie Ferguson who has played a lot of cricket in India,” said Tom Latham.

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Steep Task Ahead for New Zealand

As mentioned by skipper Tom Latham, their squad looks a bit fragile. A lot will depend on how Tom Latham performs as he will have to make sure that he plays long & effective innings for the team. It won’t be wrong to say that the Men in Blue are strong favourites for the ODI Series given the fact all the players have chipped in.

India should not take New Zealand lightly as they have a habit of finding match-winners on the given day which makes them a dangerous unit. It won’t be a surprise, if the pitch in Hyderabad is batting friendly as so far we have witnessed high-scoring thrillers.

Also Read: IND vs NZ: “The Risk Percentage Goes Up To 90 Percent” – Sunil Gavaskar On Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma Comparison

Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah