After T20I, the Indian cricket team will switch to ODI mode with a five-match series against New Zealand that gets underway from Wednesday. It will mark the return of former captains Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli who were last seen in action during a home series against West Indies.
The series, the latest in India’s preparations for the next year’s ODI World Cup to be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, will be crucial for the veteran batting duo given they now play only one format at international level.
Both Rohit and Kohli are in-form batters, with each having scored a century during the West Indies series in September-October.
Both will hope for a productive tour and further strengthen their credentials for being handed another
crack at the ODI World Cup.
While Kohli has been a World Cup winner in 2011, Rohit came agonisingly close to winning the trophy in 2023 when he captained India to the final when they finished as the runners-up.
Ahead of the series opener, Test legend Cheteshwar Pujara feels that Kohli has a better chance at scoring a century in New Zealand given the different roles they play for the team.
“The way Rohit bats, he has a role of providing good starts in the powerplay. In New Zealand, maybe that role changes, so he could go for a century,” Pujara said on Jiostar. “But for Virat, the chances are slightly higher because he bats at number three. His game is more about playing the anchor role.”
“So, for a batsman coming in at number three, scoring a century in the ODI format becomes a bit easier. The opener’s role is also defined, but in New Zealand conditions, that changes a bit. So, I feel Virat has more chances of scoring a hundred in New Zealand than Rohit,” he explained.
Kohli has a fine ODI record in New Zealand, having scored 596 runs in 13 innings while averaging 49.66. He has a century and four half-centuries to his name.
On the other hand, Rohit has 437 runs including four half-centuries at an average of 36.41 in 13 innings.
New Zealand Test Series ‘Decisive’ For Gambhir
Under head coach Gautam Gambhir, India have been quite successful in white-ball cricket. However, the results in Tests have been underwhelming.
Of the seven Test series so far that Gambhir has overseen as the head coach, India have won three including two at home (vs Bangladesh and West Indies), and one in Sri Lanka. At the same time, they have suffered two clean sweeps at home – 0-3 against New Zealand and 0-2 against South Africa.
Though they drew a five-match Test series in England, India also endured a 1-3 series defeat in Australia.
Pujara felt that given the importance of the two-match Test series in New Zealand, India should not have picked the likes of Shubman Gill and KL Rahul for the ODI series too.
“This Test series, for me, is a decisive one for Gautam Gambhir and Indian fans. So, I would have liked players like KL Rahul and Shubman Gill, who are playing both formats, to focus only on Test cricket,” Pujara said.
“Because now you have to prepare for the ODIs and, after that, the Tests. So, I would rather have given them one or two months to go and practise with the red ball. Just like they beat us here in India, we should beat them there,” he added.
