Team India squad announced for the ODI series against New Zealand

January 3, 2026

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The three-match ODI series between India and New Zealand will begin on January 11, 2026. The BCCI has announced the Indian team for the series. The visiting team has already announced its squad. Shubman Gill will captain the Indian team, which sees the return of vice-captain Shreyas Iyer, who has been out of action since getting injured during the Australia tour. However, his participation in the series will depend on his fitness. Besides him, the selectors have also brought back fast bowler Mohammed Siraj. Several star cricketers have not been included.

RO-KO duo ready to shine

The formidable duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who are in tremendous form, are once again ready to make their mark in ODIs. In the ODI series against New Zealand, these two batsmen will aim to score a mountain of runs and lead India to victory. Both batsmen scored heavily in the ODI series against South Africa. After that, these two stalwarts, who played in the Vijay Hazare Trophy after a long time, maintained their excellent form and scored centuries.

Iyer-Siraj’s return

Vice-captain Shreyas Iyer has returned to the ODI team. This is the first time Iyer has been included in the team since getting injured during the Australia tour last year. However, his participation in the series is not yet confirmed. The BCCI said in a statement, “Shreyas Iyer’s availability will depend on fitness clearance from the BCCI COE.” Besides Iyer, Mohammed Siraj has also returned to the ODI series. He was left out of the ODI series against South Africa. Now, to strengthen the Indian team’s pace attack, the selectors have brought him back into the team.

Hardik Pandya has not been given permission to play 10-over matches. The BCCI said in a statement, “Hardik Pandya has not been cleared by the BCCI COE to bowl 10 overs in a match, and considering the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, his workload is being managed.” Nitish Kumar Reddy is in the team in his place, who has increased his bowling workload in domestic cricket. He also opened the bowling for Andhra. Jasprit Bumrah, who is part of India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad, has been rested for this series.

It was believed that wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan, who returned to India’s T20 team after a long gap of two years, might also make a comeback to the ODI team. However, that didn’t happen. The selectors have chosen Rishabh Pant as the backup wicketkeeper for this series. KL Rahul will be the first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman. Sanju Samson is also out of the team.

Mohammed Shami, who has been consistently performing well in white-ball cricket, has once again been overlooked by the selectors. In the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, Shami made headlines with his powerful bowling while playing for Bengal, leading to speculation that he might return to the ODI team. However, that didn’t happen. On the other hand, young explosive batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad also failed to make the cut. In Iyer’s absence, Ruturaj scored a brilliant century in the ODI series against South Africa. He has also scored a century and a half-century in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.

These stars left out despite excellent performance in VHT

Despite excellent performances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, players like Sarfaraz Khan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Mohammed Shami, Sanju Samson, and Axar Patel have not found a place in the team. India has opted for a spin combination of one specialist spinner and two spin-bowling all-rounders, with Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar leading the attack. Axar’s exclusion from the team suggests that his role in the T20I format might become clearer after becoming the vice-captain in that format.

India’s ODI squad for the New Zealand series

Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (Wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer (Vice-captain)*, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (Wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.