Yuvraj Singh Return in T20 Opener

Visakhapatnam: India's Yuvraj Singh would be the cynosure of all eyes when he starts his journey back to international cricket with the first T20 match against New Zealand.

Yuvraj was diagnosed with the ailment between his lungs within months of winning the Man of the Tournament award in the 2011 World Cup.

His career looked in jeopardy when the diagnosis was first revealed but the flamboyant all-rounder fought back after undergoing three cycles of chemotherapy.

The two T20Is against New Zealand will start India's countdown for the fourth edition the World Twenty20 that will get underway in Sri Lanka on September 18.

As it's a jam-packed Twenty20 calendar ahead -- World T20 followed by the Champions League in South Africa -- India would be keen for a winning start against the Kiwis.

The hosts could not have started their home season on a better note having routed the visitors 2-0 in the just-concluded two-Test series.

The T20 series against New Zealand will also mark the return of Harbhajan Singh, the star off-spinner who went out of favour after being blanked 0-4 in the disastrous England tour in July-August last year.

Both Yuvraj and Harbhajan were part of India's successful campaigns in the ODI and Twenty20 World Cup (in 2007 and 2011).

Famous in the subcontinent for his T20 exploits in the IPL, Brendon McCullum will be their key batsman as the explosive wicketkeeper will look to give the visitors a blazing start.

The Kiwis shone in patches in the two Tests and the century of skipper Taylor was the high point of the last Test in Bangalore. Taylor will look to inspire the line-up and keep on the fighting spirit.

Veteran allrounder Jacob Oram will be another vital cog in the Kiwis wheel.

The 34-year-old, who was the leading (11) wicket-taker in the Sri Lankan Premier League will look to bring the team back to winning ways in conditions similar to that of Sri Lanka.

James Franklin is another name who has come handy in T20 and the allrounder will look to shine with both bat and ball.

Teams from

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain & wk), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Laxmipathy Balaji, Ashok Dinda, Piyush Chawla and Manoj Tiwary.

New Zealand: Ross Taylor (captain), Brendon McCullum (wk), Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, James Franklin, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Doug Bracewell, Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Nathan McCullum, Ronnie Hira, Kyle Mills and BJ Watling.

Pitch and conditions
Heavy rain on Thursday forced the players indoors, cancelling both practice sessions. More rain has been forecast for Saturday, but the officials say that the covers - which can protect most of the outfield - and three super soppers can mop up the ground in case of an interruption.

Stats and trivia

• Visakhapatnam has never hosted a Twenty20 before. India have won all four ODIs played here and they will hope their luck spills over to this format as well.
• The ACA-VDCA stadium is among only two venues in India with a run-rate of over 6, among grounds which have hosted four or more ODIs, the other being the Madhavrao Scindia Stadium in Rajkot. It shows that it is a high-scoring venue.
• James Franklin is the only New Zealand player in this squad who has played at the venue (during the IPL)

Match facts
Saturday September 8, 2012
Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)