Adithya Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Mitchell Hay, Nick Kelly, Jayden Lennox, Michael Rae. These are some of the members of the New Zealand ODI squad set to partake in a series in India. If you send a questionnaire to a group of cricket fans on the above-mentioned players, then a sizable portion of them could leave the answer boxes blank.
Just consider the following lines to have a better idea of this New Zealand squad. Eight players from the New Zealand set-up haven’t played in this country. Five of those players have less than ODI caps, and two of them are yet to represent the New Zealand senior side. At a macro-level, it narrates a story about how 50-over cricket has lost its charm. And it makes you ponder about the future of this format, especially once Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma hang up their spiked boots.
One of the reasons for the depleted nature of the squad is injuries. The likes of Will O’Rourke, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith and Matt Henry are either injured or just about making a return to full fitness. Even if all the above-mentioned players in the injured list were fully fit, there would have been a chance of some of them being rested. It adds more credence to the fact that ODI cricket is wading through a tough phase.
Meanwhile, Jacob Duffy and Rachin Ravindra have been rested, while Tom Latham is on paternity leave. Kane Williamson is currently involved in the SA20.
So, among the players picked, who are those that you would want to keep an eye on? Perhaps it is Rae. At 30, he is no spring chicken. But with enough experience under his belt in domestic cricket, the Canterbury pace bowler might turn out to be one of the leaders of the pace attack. Rae, who has eight wickets in two Tests, is deceptively quick and has a surprise short ball.
Nick Kelly, who bats in the top order, has the traits to repeatedly clear the infield and can play cheeky shots behind the wicket. If the Indian seamers don’t get their lines and lengths right, he could just take the mickey out of them with scoops and reverse scoops.
Clarke is a useful all-rounder; seems to hit the bat quite hard. Ashok, the Vellore-born New Zealand wrist spinner, can turn it both ways. It will also be interesting to observe who is going to keep wickets. Maybe it is Devon Conway. Otherwise, Hay will don the gloves.
On paper, it feels like a hurriedly stitched New Zealand ODI squad. Despite the dwindling fortunes of the 50-over format, you expect jam-packed stadiums for the three matches, and that is largely due to the presence of Rohit and Kohli. However, in an imaginary sense, up and above the 50-over format, dark clouds are perhaps waiting for those two to retire before unleashing its fury.
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