EXCLUSIVE: 'Because of the IPL...', Jonty Rhodes makes a BIG statement on India's T20I squad for New Zealand series

After a disappointing outing in the T20 World Cup, Team India look to bounce back in style in the three-match T20I series vs New Zealand in their backyard. Rohit Sharma's India may have reached the semifinals of the tournament. In one way, it can be called as a fairly good show by Team India. But knowing that they had a poor run in 2021 and that it has been more than 15 years now since they last won a T20 World Cup, there were huge expectations from the team. New Zealand T20Is are the first assignment for this team post the World Cup and the selectors seem to be moving past the tried and tested players, giving chance to youngsters. 

Also Read: Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant, will all play vs New Zealand?

Ex-South Africa player Jonty Rhodes, who has spent many years with different IPL franchises as fielding coach, told Zee News English that he believes the current crop of players can take the Indian cricket forward in this format. He added that IPL has done a lot fo help these players get experience. 

Preps _ for the T20I series opener! _ _#TeamIndia | #NZvIND pic.twitter.com/mfdNQxFhm1 — BCCI (@BCCI) November 16, 2022

"The current crop that has gone to play against New Zealand is a fairly young team and if you look at that, there are still some great players in that lineup. Because of the IPL, you certainly have platform for young players to showcase their skills.

"If you look at the T20 squad selected straight after the World Cup, I think that gives you strong indication of the ability of the players," said Rhodes. 

The current team that is in New Zealand includes the likes of Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill. This young crop is being trusted upon to do wonders for the next World Cup.