AFP India-New Zealand Combined T20I XI
India and New Zealand are facing off in five T20Is ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, which begins in 3 weeks.
AFP Let's build a combined T20I XI of the two sides:
AFP 1. Abhishek Sharma
No surprises here. Abhishek is the No. 1-ranked T20I batter in the world.
AFP 2. Finn Allen (wk)
A brutal powerhitter, Allen edges out Sanju Samson due to recent form.
AFP 3. Tilak Varma
Tilak averages nearly 50 in T20Is and his measured temperament has earned him plaudits.
BCCI 4. Suryakumar Yadav (c)
SKY may be out of form, but few can deny his pedigree. He is yet to lose a series as T20I captain.
AFP 5. Hardik Pandya
One of the premier white-ball all-rounders in the world, Hardik's selection is a no-brainer.
AFP 6. Glenn Phillips
Phillips edges out Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube due to his all-round and fielding prowess.
AFP 7. Michael Bracewell
A 50-50 call as Bracewell and Axar Patel have nearly identical T20I stats.
AFP 8. Mitchell Santner
New Zealand captain Santner is an easy pick, having taken 130 T20I wickets in his career.
AFP 9. Arshdeep Singh
India's highest-ever T20I wicket-taker, Arshdeep gets in ahead of the in-form Jacob Duffy.
AFP 10. Jasprit Bumrah
An automatic inclusion. Bumrah was the difference-maker for India at the T20 World Cup 2024.
AFP 11. Varun Chakravarthy
Varun's rise to the No. 1 spot in the T20I bowling rankings confirms his spot in the XI.
AFP sports.ndtv.com