The Indian cricket team has announced the squad for the New Zealand ODI series. Shubman Gill has been expectedly made comeback and will lead the team, and Shreyas Iyer has been included in the squad, though the BCCI and CoE are yet to give NOC on him. As big names like Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retained their places in the team, a few names have also missed out. Md. Shami is again sidelined from the squad while Mohammad Siraj has made his comeback into the ODI squad. Centurion from the last series Ruturaj Gaikwad was not picked by the selectors, Devdutt Padikkal and Ishan Kishan who are having a great run in the domestic circuit have also been sidelined from the squad. It clearly indicates that the management and the selectors prioritised stability more than experimentation and uncertainty, giving Gill more space to work with comfort.
Continuity over experiment
The Indian ODI team is looking more settled than other formats as the team prioritised stability more than anything else and that's why many of the irregular players were retained in the setup. Rishabh Pant who last appeared in a white-ball game in 2024 against Sri Lanka has got a place before Ishan Kishan who has also done well down the order. Devdutt Padikkal who has already registered 514 runs in just 5 matches in VHT has also been sidelined and Nitish Kumar Reddy gets a place in the squad to bring balance. Big questions are raised as Ruturaj Gaikwad who played only two innings in the last series in which he hit a century has been omitted from the squad. When the Indian team is testing players in the other formats, the ODI team is mostly settled and has clarity on the roles. Rohit and Gill at the opening, Virat and Shreyas Iyer at the top and KL Rahul and a batting all-rounder in the middle order, everyone holds a good record and numbers.
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Siraj’s comeback will strengthen the bowling
Siraj who has been omitted from the last Champions Trophy squad developed himself as a more useful bowler recently been given a place in the squad. Despite giving good performances in domestic cricket Shami was not considered by the selectors. Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Prasidh Krishna will be there to charge the bowling line-up along with Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav.
India ODI squad against New Zealand
Shubman Gill ( C ) Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer (vc)*, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal
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*Subject to fitness clearance
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India’s squad for @IDFCFIRSTBank ODI series against New Zealand announced.
Details ▶️ https://t.co/Qpn22XBAPq#TeamIndia | #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/8Qp2WXPS5P
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 3, 2026
