Axar Patel missed out again as India take on New Zealand in the fourth T20I of the five-match series at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam. Red-hot India have already sealed the series as they have an unassailable 3-0 lead heading into the fourth clash.
India opted to bowl first in the fourth clash. India captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed a major change in the team with Ishan Kishan missing out due to a niggle and Arshdeep Singh replacing him. Meanwhile, Axar was not picked as he stays on the sidelines since the series opener on January 21.
The star all-rounder had picked up a blow to his bowling finger while bowling in the opener and had walked off the field mid-way in his over. He was replaced by Kuldeep Yadav in the second T20I and also missed the third clash.
Suryakumar gives update on Axar
Meanwhile, skipper Suryakumar gave an update on Axar during the toss of the fourth clash. “Axar Patel still needs a bit more time, so hopefully we’ll see him in the next game,” SKY said at the toss.
Meanwhile, India opted to bowl first. “We’re going to bowl first. It looks like a good wicket, and we’ll get a chance to practise here later. There was a lot of dew last night and today it’s a little humid as well, so we feel that in the second innings the ball will come onto the bat nicely. I think the important thing is to repeat the good habits we’ve built over the past year, not just in this series. We want to keep doing the good things we’ve been doing, learn from the last game, and go out there, enjoy ourselves, play the format the way it’s meant to be played, and entertain the people who’ve come here. It’s a beautiful ground and a lovely crowd here. Hopefully the boys are charged up and we have a good, entertaining night. Arshdeep comes in for Ishan Kishan, who picked up a niggle in the last game,” SKY said at the toss.
With Kishan out, SKY said that the batters will have to take more responsibility. “The batters will need to take a bit more responsibility, but at the same time not shy away from playing with fearless intent. We’ve got five good bowling options today, so we’ll see how it goes,” SKY added.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Tim Seifert(w), Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner(c), Zakary Foulkes, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
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