Virat Kohli's India became just the second Indian side to win a bilateral ODI series in New Zealand on Monday.
India defeated New Zealand by seven wickets in the third ODI at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui to seal the five-match series 3-0.
The top three run-scorers of the ODI series so far are the top three batsmen of Team India - Shikhar Dhawan (169 runs), Rohit Sharma (160 runs) and Kohli (148 runs).
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to rest the Indian skipper for the final two ODIs and the T20I series in the ongoing tour of New Zealand.
Now that India have won the ODI series, Kohli can go into his much-deserving break as a happy and relaxed man. Meanwhile, during the post-match interview, Kohli probably has hinted at the batsman who could come in as his replacement in the playing XI in the final two ODIs.
Talking about the current batsmen and team combination, Kohli said, "Three clinical games for us. Couldn't have asked for a better performance after the first two clinical games. The relentlessness of the side is something that really pleases me. We really enjoy ourselves and even at the end when Rayudu and Karthik were batting, we were sitting in the change room and cheering for every run.
That's how the environment in the dressing room is. The guys believe in their skills and they are showing it on the field. When a guy doesn't get runs in a couple of games, he's actually hungry to score runs and the opposition feels a bit nervous because he's gonna fire at some stage. So, that's the kind of confidence we carry in the team right now; in the batting department as well as the bowling department."
Speaking on the youngsters in the squad, Kohli said, "I think there are some outstanding talents. We saw Prithvi Shaw grab the opportunity with both hands. Shubman [Gill] is a very exciting talent and I saw him bat in the nets and I was like wow I was not even ten percent of that when I was 19.
So, that's the confidence that they carry and it's great for Indian cricket, the standard keeps going up and the guys coming in can make those impact performances straightaway. And, we are more than happy to give them chances and provide them the space to grow," Kohli might have hinted that Gill might make his India debut on Friday.
The final two ODIs will be played on Friday and Sunday at Auckland and Hamilton respectively.
