Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has shed light on New Zealand’s playing combination for the T20 World Cup 2026. Ashwin reckons the Kiwis might not even play Devon Conway in their starting XI as the left-hander is struggling with his form.
In the recent T20I series against India, Conway scored 64 runs in four matches at an average of 16 and a strike rate of 177.78. Barring the fourth T20I, in which the left-hander scored 44 runs off just 23 balls, Conway had a poor series.
Ashwin backed Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, and Rachin Ravindra to be New Zealand’s top three in the T20I showpiece.
Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel, “They’ve developed Daryl Mitchell into a smart finisher. I was stunned by two sixes he smashed off Bumrah in the final T20I as they were superb options. They will also depend heavily on Fill Allen’s strike rate upfront. Their major weakness is the batting tempo of Devon Conway and Jimmy Neesham. So I don’t think Devon Conway will even start in this World Cup. Their top three will be Allen, Seifert, and Rachin Ravindra.”
On the other hand, former India off-spinner questioned if Rachin Ravindra is a capable batter in the T20I format. Ashwin reckons Ravindra’s leg-side game is his weakness.
“Rachin Ravindra has great upside as he’s transitioning into a T20 cricketer. Though I am not too sure if he’s a T20 cricketer. His biggest weakness is his leg-sidedness, and he has no shots when the ball is above the hip. Even with the fuller delivery on his legs, he has no shots. I’ve observed for two to three years that he hasn’t worked on that aspect of his game. He needs to sort that out if he wants to become a good T20 cricketer,” said Ashwin (via the aforementioned source).
Ashwin was impressed by Mark Chapman’s technique in the T20I series against India as the left-hander was using his feet against the spinners
“I really like his (Chapman) batting as he’s the only one apart from Daryl Mitchell that uses his feet. He showed the ability to hit Varun Chakaravarthy for a six by using his feet. He shows his stumps, but still, Mark Chapman will be a very interesting option for them. I’ll definitely play Mark Chapman ahead of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra.”
New Zealand will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Afghanistan on Sunday in Chennai.
