India vs New Zealand Squads 2016: New Zealand Possible Playing XI

India vs New Zealand Squads 2016: Visitors may still persist with Martin Guptill ahead of tour game centurion Luke Ronchi for the first Test in Kanpur.

Finally, the time has arrived. The long, Test-heavy home season for Team India is about to begin with the first of the three Tests against New Zealand, that starts Thursday, September 22 at Kanpur. Both the teams have been involved in rigorous training and practice sessions at the Green Park Stadium for last few days. The visitors came to Kanpur after playing a warm-up match against Mumbai in the capital city and will have a fair idea about the Indian conditions, the climate that is, by now. It is important here to specify about the climate because they still will not be sure about the playing conditions that will be on offer. However, one thing is obvious that spin will play an important role and whether to field three spinners or not is something they will have to consider. Meanwhile, let us have a look at their possible playing XI:

Top-order: Before the New Zealand Test squad was announced for the tour of India, the cricket experts were predicting Martin Guptill may not feature in it. The talks of inclusion of Indian-born Jeet Raval were also doing the rounds. However, the selectors once again showed faith in Guptill and picked him ahead of Raval, who had been in a tremendous form of late. Despite several chances, Guptill’s Test career has not taken-off till date. He has been a prolific scorer in the limited-overs cricket, but has failed to translate his form in the five-day game. Even in the warm-up game against Mumbai, he failed to score big and got dismissed for 15 and 0.

On the other hand, makeshift opener Luke Ronchi made his opportunity count by hitting a stroke-filled hundred in the second innings of the practice match, thus increasing the pressure on struggling Guptill. However, the team management may stick with Guptill, at least for the first Test, and have Ronchi, who can play spin well, as the backup opener for the tour. They would not have brought him to India if they did not want him to play. So, in all likelihood, Guptill will play the first Test. The second openers’ slot will be taken by Tom Latham, who hit a fluent fifty in the warm-up game. Skipper Kane Williamson, team’s best batsman, will take the all-important No. 3 slot.

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Middle-order: The experienced campaigner and former captain Ross Taylor will bat at No. 4. The 32-year-old batsman has been in an indifferent form of late. He had a terrific trip to Zimbabwe last month, where New Zealand travelled for a two-Test series. Taylor registered the scores of 173 not out, 67 not out and 124 not out in the three outings and remained unconquered. He went to a tough tour of South Africa from there with a staggering average of 364 in the previous series, only to manage a mere 3 runs in two Tests, which included an abandoned match. If New Zealand are to do well in India, they will need this 73-Test veteran to come good.

The fifth slot in the batting line-up shall be taken by left-handed batsman Henry Nicholls. A relatively newcomer in the side, who is on his first trip to India, has shown enough promise in his limited chances so far. He will have a huge role to play in the series given the position he will bat at. He is likely to be followed by BJ Watling in the batting order. The South-African-born Kiwi stumper has been phenomenal over the last couple of years. It is because of his proficiency with the bat that the Kiwis did not have to worry after Brendon McCullum’s retirement. He is a vital cog in this line-up and will play a vital role for the tourists on this trip

Lower-order and bowling line-up: James Neesham has been ruled out from the first Test after a rib injury. This means exciting all-rounder Mitchell Santner is the only available option with all-round abilities and in all likelihood will take the No. 7 spot in the playing XI. A gritty batsman lower down the order and an orthodox slow-left-arm bowler, Santner will add balance to the side and shall be key to New Zealand’s plans in the series. He will have the dual responsibility of delivering both with the bat and the ball and from whatever little we have seen of him so far, there is little doubt that he won’t deliver. In India, where spin will be crucial in determining the two teams’ success, Santner’s role will hold significance.

Coming to the bowlers, it will be interesting to see whether New Zealand go with three spinners for the first Test or not. They will certainly be tempted to play both Mark Craig and Ish Sodhi, as coach Mike Hesson had suggested while talking to the media before leaving for the tour. Reacting to the threat of Ravichandran Ashwin, Hesson had said: “Seamers if anything might bowl two-three overs up front and it’s more likely they’re [India] going to have spin at one end to start with if they’re going to play three of them. And if you’ve got two left-handers against Ashwin at the top it’s going to be a big challenge for us. We have to assess conditions and pick what we think is the right mix.”

If the visitors decide to field both Sodhi and Craig, they will just be left with two slots for the pacers. Tim Southee’s injury that ruled him out from the tour has come as a setback for the Kiwis. However, they still have enough firepower to rattle the Indian batsmen. His replacement Matt Henry is a fantastic bowler too, but it is unlikely the team management will field him up front. Trent Boult is a definite starter, and so is Neil Wagner. The latter has been in a brilliant form of late, picking 20 wickets in his last four Tests, including an incomplete game. If the management decides against fielding three spinners, Doug Bracewell might come in to the side.

Here’s the likely New Zealand XI for the Kanpur Test:

New Zealand’s likely XI for the 1st Test: Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling (wk), Mitchell Santner, Doug Bracewell / Mark Craig, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner.

(A self-confessed cricket freak, Chinmay Jawalekar is a senior writer with CricLife and CricketCountry. When not writing or following cricket, he loves to read, eat and sleep. He can be followed here @CricfreakTweets)

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