India will play a five-match T20I series in New Zealand, and former Sunrisers Hyderabad batter Tirumalasetti Suman has picked his playing XI for the opener on his YouTube channel.
Two Telugu players feature in key spots. Hyderabad's Tilak Varma bats at No. 5, and Andhra all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy comes in at No. 6.
Suman's XI
Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav.
No room for Varun
Suman left out spinner Varun Chakravarthy. He said New Zealand conditions call for more fast bowlers, and that India want batting depth down to No. 8. He admitted that head coach Gautam Gambhir rarely drops Varun, and said it remains to be seen whether India would drop a pacer and trust an all-rounder to make room for him.
The actual playing XI will be known on match day.
