New Zealand outplayed India in the first T20I in Wellington. The visitors lost the T20I series opener by 80 runs. India’s composition in the match was a matter of debate. The Men in Blue didn’t pick Kuldeep Yadav and had three all-rounders and wicket-keepers each in the XI.
Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, however, sees no fault in India’s XI. “No, I don’t think so [missed a trick with the playing XI]. It was the first match of the T20I series. You’re trying to sort of assess the strengths and weaknesses of not just your team but also your opposition. I wouldn’t be too worried about it. T20I can be very unpredictable. The best of teams can lose on the day,” Gavaskar said.
Gavaskar also revealed why he felt Vijay Shankar’s promotion to no.3 was not wrong.
“I think what India is looking at with this T20I how maybe some of the players can be looked at for the 50-over World Cup, which is a couple of month’s time. So maybe that’s the reason why Vijay Shankar got the promotion. So if the team is looking to experiment at this stage, I won’t be worried too much about the result.”