Why Zak Foulkes is Not Playing Today in IND vs NZ 1st T20I?

The Indian team will take on Nee Zealand in the 5-match T20I series, starting on January 22 in Nagpur. The teams recently played in the ODI series where the visitors won, 2-1. Hence, India will be aiming to make a comeback in the shortest format of the game.

Both India and New Zealand have some of the best T20 batsmen in the playing XI which makes this match exciting to watch. While the match got off to a flier, the biggest surprise was the omission of New Zealand's Zak Foulkes, who missed out on the 1st T20I against India.

Why Zak Foulkes is Not Playing Today in IND vs NZ T20I?

For the first T20I match against India, New Zealand picked up their playing XI keeping the T20 World Cup in mind. They have dropped the fast bowler Zak Foulkes from the match and no reason was mentioned by their captain Mitchell Santner during the toss. Kristian Clarke was selected as Zak Foulkes replacement and he also received his T20I cap today. Clarke was impressive during the ODIs as he picked up seven wickets in three games.

Meanwhile, Jacob Duffy and Kyle Jamieson are the other experienced bowlers. Hence, Foulkes had to miss out mainly due to the team combination. However, it's a five-match series and he is likely to get an opportunity in the upcoming games.

New Zealand have a strong team and will look to win the first game as well as the series ahead of the World Cup. A win here against one of the best cricket teams in the world will give them a lot of confidence to play in the marquee event. The Kiwis have gone with three pacers as the pitch is likely to favor them in the match.

Zak Foulkes in ODI Series Against India

In the three-match ODI series against India, Zak Foulkes wasn't quite impactful. In three games, he claimed four wickets at an average of 48.25 and was the fourth highest wicket-taker of the series. However, his best performance came in the final match where he picked up 3-77 in nine overs.

Despite not being economical, he dismissed Rohit Sharma, Harshit Rana, and Mohammed Siraj. He broke a promising stand between Kohli and Rana as the latter was dismissed for 52. Although he didn't play the IND vs NZ 1st T20I, Foulkes is likely to play a key role for NZ in the upcoming T20 World Cup. He has excellent control over the new ball and can bowl good slower ones in the slog overs as well.

New Zealand Playing 11 for 1st T20I Against India

Tim Robinson, Devon Conway (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy