'I'm actually really happy for Bhuvneshwar because I like him...': Madan Lal

Madan Lal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Pic: File Pic)

Team India is set to take on New Zealand in the five-match T20I series. The first match is scheduled to be played on October 22 at the Hagley Park South in the central city of Christchurch.

Ahead of the series, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad. Veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has also been named in India's squad.

As the pacer marks his return to Indian colours after nearly four years, former Team India's cricketer Madan Lal has expressed happiness, saying that bowlers like Bhuvneshwar can generate momentum with the ball.

"I'm actually really happy for Bhuvneshwar because I like him. The reason he's come back is that he put in good IPL performances. And bowlers like that are always effective because they can generate movement with the ball," he said.

The former cricketer also said that Bhuvneshwar might concede runs in some T20I matches, but he definitely claim wickets because of his swing.

"Whenever you're playing cricket, if you have movement, whether it's outswing or inswing, you're definitely going to get wickets. Sure, it's T20 cricket, and sometimes he might get hit, but he's definitely going to get wickets because he has that movement," said Lal.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's T20I statistics

So far, the Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer has made 87 appearances for the "Men in Blue" in the shortest format of the game. He has also bagged 90 wickets, with his best bowling figures being five wickets for four runs.

Bhuvneshwar has also registered three four-wicket hauls and two five-wicket hauls to his name.

The second T20I match will be played on October 24 at the same venue. The third T20I match is scheduled to be played on October 27 at the Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington, followed by the fourth game on October 30 at the Eden Park in Auckland. The Seddon Park in Hamilton will host the fifth clash on November 1.

IND vs NZ T20Is: Full squads

India: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma (VC), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Matt Henry, Glenn Phillips, Zak Foulkes, Michael Bracewell, Adam Milne, Mitchell Santner (C), Bevon Jacobs, Jacob Duffy, Daryl Mitchell, Tim Seifert, Mark Chapman, Kyle Jamieson, Devon Conway, Nathan Smith, Lockie Ferguson.

(With ANI Inputs)