On Friday, October 16, the Board of Control for Cricket in India revealed two different teams for the five-match ODI series against New Zealand. Shreyas Iyer will lead the team in the final two games, with Shubman Gill serving as captain for the first three. Interestingly, Ravindra Jadeja is not included in either squad.
The series will start on November 4 in Auckland and continue with games in Wellington, Hamilton, and Mount Maunganui. After just finishing a three-match series against the West Indies, where Rohit Sharma scored 225 runs and Virat Kohli finished with 168 runs over the course of the three games, India will resume ODI cricket.
Kohli and Rohit have been included in the squads for each of the five games. For the first three ODIs, Iyer will be Gill’s vise captain; for the fourth and fifth games, Iyer will lead Ishan Kishan as vise captain.
In order to give different players playing time before the 2027 ODI World Cup, the BCCI decided to name two separate squads. Along with Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Kuldeep Yadav, the first team consists of two wicketkeepers, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan.
Rahul, Prasidh Krishna, Kamboj, and Gill leave the team for the fourth and fifth ODIs. The replacements are Tilak Varma, Kumar Kushagra, Yash Thakur, and Auqib Nabi. Kushagra has been called up to the senior India ODI team for the first time. He will keep wicket with Kishan in the upcoming matches.
Despite numerous rumors that he might return during this series, Mohammed Shami was left out of both squads. Jasprit Bumrah’s absence from the ODI squads may be related to his commitments to Test matches. A member of India’s T20I team for the New Zealand series, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was also left out of the ODI lineup.
Also Read: India Name Bhuvneshwar Kumar as Arshdeep Singh’s Replacement for Final T20I
Auckland will host the start of the five-match ODI series against New Zealand on November 4. The remaining four games will take place in Wellington, Hamilton, and Mount Maunganui; however, the information provided does not confirm the precise dates of each subsequent match.
India has a significant chance to evaluate their ODI combination with the 2027 World Cup in mind during this series. Selectors will be able to assess a larger pool of players under two different captains thanks to the squad’s division over the five games, giving Gill and Iyer leadership experience in the format.
India’s ODI team for the initial three matches:
Shubman Gill [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer [VC], KL Rahul [WK], Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan [WK], Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna*, and Kuldeep Yadav
The Indian team for the fourth and fifth ODIs:
Shreyas Iyer [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan [WK, VC], Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra [WK], Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, and Kuldeep Yadav
*Fitness-related
