Indian fans woke up to the welcome news of Sanju Samson and Umran Malik getting their first ODI in New Zealand in Auckland after warming the benches for the entire T20I series. The Indian team management was criticised heavily for not giving a single game to Samson and Malik in the three-match T20I series, which they won 1-0. Hardik Pandya was the captain of the side but he has now gone back home along with a few others like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj and Ishan Kishan. Shikhar Dhawan has taken over the Indian captaincy for the ODI series and he immediately brought Samson and Malik into the XI.
Malik was one of the two Indian cricketers making their ODI debuts in Auckland on Friday. The other one was Arshdeep Singh, who has fast-risen to be go-to seamers in limited-overs cricket after his exploits in T20I cricket this year.
India vs New Zealand 1st ODI live score
Arshdeep was handed over his ODI cap by skipper Dhawan while Umran was given his ODI cap by bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule, who, like head coach VVS Laxman and batting coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar, is stepping in for India's regular support staff led Rahul Dravid.
BCCI shared a video on Twitter of the cap presentation ceremony, in which Laxman was seen making announcements about the debuts. Dhawan walked up to Arshdeep, handed him the ODI cap and asked him to do his customary 'kabaddi style' celebration. Next in line was Umran Malik. The tearaway quick was presented his cap by Bahutule but such was the excitement coupled with nervousness of the event that Malik overlooked the presence of the cameraperson right behind him filming the moment. If it weren't for Malik's teammates who shouted "Are camera udhar hai (The camera is there)," Malik could have started his ODI career by colliding with the cameraperson.
While playing Samson and Malik is a good move, it left India's bowling a bit thin. As India decided to pick both Rishabh Pant and Samson in the XI, there was no space for Deepak Hooda, meaning there was no one who can chup with a couple of overs if needed. The five bowling options for India were Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik.
{{/usCountry}}While playing Samson and Malik is a good move, it left India's bowling a bit thin. As India decided to pick both Rishabh Pant and Samson in the XI, there was no space for Deepak Hooda, meaning there was no one who can chup with a couple of overs if needed. The five bowling options for India were Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik.
{{/usCountry}}New Zealand XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (captain), Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson.
India XI: Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.