KL Rahul likely to lead the team in India vs New Zealand T20 Series: Report

KL Rahul's form for Team India in the ongoing T20 World Cup has not been great for which he has come under criticism from fans. During the recently concluded IPL 2021 KL Rahul was in fine form and was also amongst the contender for the orange cap, however, he failed to replicate his IPL form for Team India in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Despite the poor form with the bat, KL Rahul is most likely to lead Team India in the T20I format during India vs New Zealand series.

India vs New Zealand: KL Rahul likely to lead Team India

Virat Kohli is set to step down from the T20I captaincy of Team India and Rohit Sharma is touted to be the favourite to take over the hot seat. However an ANI report on Tuesday has said that keeping in mind the fatigue of the players due to the bubble life, some senior players will be rested for the India vs New Zealand T20I series making way for KL Rahul to don the captain's hat.

According to the report, a source has confirmed that KL Rahul is the front runner to lead Team India for India vs New Zealand T20I series. The source said,

"The seniors would need a breather and it is no secret that Rahul is an integral part of the team's T20 structure. He is almost certain to lead". 

Following the loss to New Zealand in the T20 World Cup match, Jasprit Bumrah did throw light on the fatigue factor after the loss against the Kiwis on Sunday.

He said "Sometimes you need a break. You miss your family sometimes. You've been on the road for six months. So all of that sometimes play on the back of your mind. But when you're on the field, you don't think of all those things. You don't control a lot of things, how the scheduling goes on or what tournament is played when so obviously staying in a bubble and staying away from your family for such a long period of time does play a role on the player's mind as well.

He further added, "But they also tried their best to make us feel comfortable. But this is the time which we're living in right now. It's a difficult time. There's a pandemic going on. So we try to adapt. But sometimes bubble fatigue, mental fatigue also creeps in, that you're doing the same thing again and again and again. So it is the way it is, and you can't control a lot of it here." 

India vs New Zealand T20I series schedule

New Zealand will play a T20I series and then follow it up with two Test matches. The T20Is will be played on November 17 in Jaipur, November 19 in Ranchi and November 21 in Kolkata. The two Tests will be played in Kanpur (November 25-29) and Mumbai (December 3-7). 

(With ANI inputs)