5 undervalued India and New Zealand players who can do well in the upcoming Test series
India and New Zealand are all set to lock horns in the three-Test series which will begin on September 22 in Kanpur. With the exception Shardul Thakur and Stuart Binny, the Indian squad, on its quest to regain the No.1 spot in Tests, is pretty much the same as the one that traveled to West Indies.
The Kiwis, on the other hand, have brought back Jimmy Neesham, who has not played international cricket since 2015 after sustaining a back injury. New Zealand will be the underdogs in the series, but they have plenty of names in their squad, capable of giving India a good fight.
Here’s a look at the top 5 underrated India and New Zealand players who can spring up a surprise glittery performance in the series.
#1 Amit Mishra, India
Amit Mishra is the most undervalued leg-spinner in the team at present. While a lot has been discussed about the dependence on Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma during the buildup to the series, little has been spoken of Mishra’s brilliance, as seen in his latest stats.
In the warm-up match against the West Indies, he confused the batsmen with his bowling variations, picking up four wickets. He continued his great form in the main games against the Caribbeans, picking up six wickets in the two Tests.
In the T20 against West Indies, too, MS Dhoni’s risk of playing Mishra over Binny paid off well as the leg-spinner who picked up 3 wickets for 24 runs.
Riding high on his performance against the Windies, we can certainly expect the 33-year-old to replicate his recent success against the Kiwis.