"Liked the team selection today" - Twitter praises Shikhar Dhawan over playing XI in first ODI, but remain skeptical over five-bowler approach

Team India stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan was subject to great praise after announcing the playing XI for the first ODI against New Zealand.

Pacers Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh were handed their debuts in the format, while Sanju Samson will feature as well.

Arshdeep is more or less a regular in the T20I side and has now ventured into the 50-over side as well. Malik and Samson, who didn't get a chance in the recently concluded T20I series against the Blackcaps, will want to make the most of the opportunity.

Deepak Hooda, Deepak Chahar and Kuldeep Yadav notably missed out on a spot in the playing XI.

Team India are set to continue with the prolific opening combination of Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan. Shreyas Iyer, heavily among the runs while batting at No. 3 in ODI cricket, is expected to continue at the position.

Rishabh Pant is a handy left-handed option in the batting order while Suryakumar Yadav will want to continue his rich vein of form.

Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar are the all-round options as Team India opted for a deep batting unit, while Yuzvendra Chahal is the lead spinner. Chahal has a good record against New Zealand in the format, claiming 18 wickets in 11 appearances.

Twitter largely praised stand-in skipper Shikhar Dhawan for his team selection. However, they also expressed their concern at going into a potentially high-scoring encounter with only five bowlers.

One fan tweeted:

"Let's go India... Liked the team selection today... #INDvsNZ"

Here are some of the reactions on the social media platform:

Let's go India...Liked the team selection today... #INDvsNZ

Great team selection @SDhawan25 .

Good to see @umran_malik_01 and @IamSanjuSamson in the squad.

#INDvsNZ

Happy for Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh 🙌🇮🇳❤️

Congratulations on your one day int'l debut 👏 go well

#INDvsNZ

Yess Shikhar 🙌🏻 #INDvsNZ

@SDhawan25 Thank you for giving an opportunity to #SanjuSamson @IamSanjuSamson #indvsnz #NZvIND #NZvsIND #indvnz

When you have part time batsman like Sunder and Thakur, do you really keep such a depth of batting in the ODI squad with the bowing options being weak? Not a wise decision by the team management. #IndvsNZ @BCCI @ESPNcricinfo

Nyyc team selection #INDvsNZ

Finally #UmranMalik and #SanjuSamson are got chance in playing 11 #ShikharDhawan #INDvsNZ

Thank god our Sanju is playing atlest in ofi format. Please give him a long rope #BCCI give him atlest 10 matches in a row before judging him. All the best @IamSanjuSamson show the world why you are a amazing player.

#INDvsNZ #SanjuSamson #sportstak

2 spinners in this tiny matchbox ground & just 5 bowling options🤦🏻Even NZ didnt play Sodhi today.. Perfect recipe for disaster..Umran&Arshdeep getting one of the worst places to make their ODI debuts
#INDvNZ
#INDvsNZ
#TeamIndia 🇮🇳

@Lareshhere Shikar the Captain being ultra safe.Just why? Playing with 5 Bowlers ? No 6th bowler 🫣 With Shardul at 8. Common man, you could have atleast played Chahar instead of Shardul. Anyways Sanju and Umran are playing ☺️ so happy about it.
#INDvsNZ #PrimeVideo

Imo opinion deepak chahar should be ahead of shardul thakur in selection for ODIs...he can bat very well with full responsibility in ODIs
And we know his bowling skills are on top
#indvsnz

Such dimensions for an out & out raw pace debut of Umran Malik 🥲

I hope him travelling around the park due to edges and mishits won’t put him out of reckoning

Hope he performs well 🤲🏼
#crickettwitter #NZvsIND #INDvsNZ #NZvINDonPrime https://t.co/Yk6lvZMAjv

Sanju is playing 🙏 #INDvsNZ https://t.co/balI9si7Gn

Deepak Hooda should have played in place of Rishabh Pant. Lack of bowling option in top 6 has been hurting #TeamIndia for a while.
#INDvsNZ #Cricket

Dhawan and co. put into bat first by New Zealand

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson opted to bowl first after winning the toss.

The Kiwis will be without all-rounder Jimmy Neesham for this game. Unlike India, the hosts have gone with a sole spinner in the form of Mitchell Santner. They have opted for a pace quartet of Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson.

🚨 Team News 🚨

@arshdeepsinghh & @umran_malik_01 make their ODI debuts.

Follow the match 👉 bit.ly/NZvIND-1STODI

#TeamIndia | #NZvIND

A look at our Playing XI for the 1⃣st ODI 🔽 https://t.co/3UGiESDHxD

The Men in Blue have started off well on a rather good surface at the Eden Park in Auckland. At the time of writing, India were 128/2 in 25 overs with Shubman Gill (50) and Shikhar Dhawan (72) exiting after scoring half-centuries.

Have Team India selected the right combination to register their first ODI win over New Zealand in five attempts? Let us know what you think.