New Zealand tour of India 2026 – India team squad announced for New Zealand ODI series with Gill back as captain.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have also been named in the team squad for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand.
Shubman Gill has comeback as the ODI captain of Men’s cricket team for the three-match series against New Zealand. His deputy Shreyas Iyer has also been named in the 15-member squad, subject to fitness clearance. Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj has been recalled after being rested during the two earlier ODI series in the home season.
The final squad was announced on Saturday after the selection committee in consultation with captain Gill, held a virtual meeting in the morning.
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BCCI statement,
“Shreyas availability is subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence. The middle-order batter is progressing in his recovery after sustaining a serious abdominal injury on the Australia tour in October last year.”
“Hardik has not been cleared by the BCCI COE to bowl 10 overs in a match and considering the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to follow his workload is being managed”.
Shreyas Iyer is ready to feature in Mumbai’s next Vijay Hazare Trophy fixture in Jaipur on Tuesday. Gill and Shreyas have replaced Ruturaj Gaikwad and Dhruv Jurel in the team squad that defeated South Africa in November. Meanwhile, Tilak Varma has made way for Mohammed Siraj with the selectors choosing to strengthen the pace attack by including a specialist fast bowler.
Gaikwad was unlucky to miss out despite scoring a century at No. 4 against South Africa, having initially been selected mainly as a reserve opener.
The BCCI also clarified that Hardik Pandya was not considered in this selection as the medical team at the Centre of Excellence has advised against him bowling 10 overs in a match. But need to remember in mind next month’s T20 World Cup.
After being rested due to a heavy Test workload, Siraj is set to lead the bowling attack as the selectors experiment ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa.
Rishabh Pant has retained his spot, with the selection committee backing him over Ishan Kishan. Whether Pant gets an opportunity to prove his credentials during the series remains to be seen.
INDIA SQUAD FOR NEW ZEALAND ODIS 2026:
Shubman Gill (C), Shreyas Iyer (VC), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh
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