Captain Virat Kohli lavished India with praise after a five-nil T20I series victory over New Zealand on Sunday.
India reached an unassailable three-nil series lead with a relatively familiar XI – and later made changes to allow the rest of the squad game time.
All-rounder Shivam Dube, spinner Washington Sundar and batsman Sanju Sansom were among those fielded across the final two matches, while Kohli, the hard-hitting Ravindra Jadeja, seamer Mohammed Shami and others were rested. Opening batsman Rohit Sharma, meanwhile, sustained a calf injury during the final T20I.
“I am really proud of the way we played this series. The conversation we had in the change room was always looking to find a way to win. That's something we have been working on as a team,” said Kohli.
“When it comes together nicely, it feels really good, and especially here, I mean, you don't want to see what happened to Rohit, but the fact that in the field, there were all these young guys playing together, and handling pressure situations was something I was very happy to watch from the outside.
“Obviously gives you a lot of satisfaction as a senior player, because you know the team is in good hands, and there are people who are thinking in the right manner about the game and who are going to take this momentum for the team forward in many years to come.”
New Zealand and India will soon contest three ODIs. The hosts will retain captain Kane Williamson, despite the one-sided scoreline in the T20I series. Bet365 have New Zealand and India offered at 2.75 and 1.44, respectively, to win Wednesday's first ODI in Hamilton.
Kohli on Williamson
“Kane and I have very similar mindsets, very similar philosophies. He's just a really nice guy, and we got along well, we've known each other for a while. It's amazing to know that in different parts of the world you are thinking the same things, talking the same language and heading in the right direction,” added Kohli.
“Although the scoreline looks very different for New Zealand, I truly believe that New Zealand cricket is in the best hands with Kane. He is the right guy to lead this team, and lay out that vision for them which he has in the past as well.”