“Jab UPwale Met” – Mohammad Kaif shares a selfie with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav in New Zealand
Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif took some time out of his busy schedule to meet Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav during his stint as a commentator for India's tour of New Zealand.
For the uninitiated, Bhuvneshwar and Kuldeep have played for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket under Kaif’s leadership. Sharing a selfie of the reunion, Kaif expressed his delight at witnessing the two bowlers’ rise in international cricket.
Taking to Twitter, Kaif wrote:
“Jab UPwale Met: Catching up with Bhuvi and Kuldeep after a long time. Worked with them as captain since their junior days, so proud to see them grow.”
Bhuvneshwar, who has established himself in the white ball setup, represented Team India in a couple of T20Is against the Blackcaps but only took one wicket. He has been rested for the upcoming ODI series.
Kuldeep, meanwhile, didn’t get any opportunities in the T20I series and will be looking for chances in the three ODIs. The left-arm chinaman bowler played for India in the recently concluded ODI series against South Africa, picking up six wickets in three games, including 4/18 in the third match. Thus, he is likely to play in the ODIs against the Kiwis.
Shikhar Dhawan to lead India in ODI series against New Zealand
Shikhar Dhawan will be back to lead the Men in Blue once again in the ODI series against New Zealand as senior players Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli have been rested. He will look to continue his purple patch as captain after completing a 3-0 whitewash in the West Indies and a 2-1 victory against the Proteas at home.
Team India will play their ODI opener in Auckland on Friday (November 25). The action will then shift to Hamilton (November 27) and Christchurch (November 30).
Shikhar Dhawan and Co. will look to avenge a 3-0 whitewash (in 2019) that they suffered against the Blackcaps on New Zealand soil during their last ODI series.
India’s squad for ODIs: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC and WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen, Umran Malik
New Zealand squad for ODIs: Kane Williamson (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Daryl Mitchell, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Tom Latham (wk), Matt Henry.