New Zealand vs India 2019: 3 Indian players whose performance will closely watched in the T20I series

2. Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik's rise as a T20 player provides the much needed ammunition to the Indian batting line up in T20Is. The calm and composed manner in which he manages to judge the situation of the game is a real bonus for India, especially at a time when MSD's finishing touches are slowly waning away.

It started with the Nidahas Trophy final where Karthik helped India clinch the win with an audacious display of hitting that left Bangladesh stunned. That was followed by him taking the reins of KKR in IPL 2019, where his wicket-keeping and batting skills only grew in stature.

Karthik has established himself as the backup wicket-keeper for MSD in India's ODI setup. That said, he would be ruing the fact that while he got the opportunity to don the gloves when MSD was injured in the ODI series against the Kiwis, he couldn't impress.

Karthik would want to get back to scoring ways in a format that has suited him the most in recent times. He has three T20Is against New Zealand at Wellington, Hamilton and Auckland followed by two T20Is against the Aussies at home to reinforce his worth.

He would surely want to put up strong performances in these games and carry that form into the ODIs. The Indian team management would also want their reserve wicket-keeper to be in good shape and nick going into a tournament as big as the World Cup.