India's ODI squad for 2026/27 New Zealand tour: Key takeaways
What's the story
The Indian men's senior selection committee has named the squad for the upcoming five-match ODI series in New Zealand. Shreyas Iyer, who missed the West Indies ODIs due to Asian Games commitments, returns as India's vice-captain. He will also lead in the last two ODIs, with regular skipper Shubman Gill focusing on the succeeding two-match Test series. Notably, Jasprit Bumrah is still not part of the ODI squad.
Squads
A look at India's ODI squads
Squad for the first three ODIs: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna*, and Kuldeep Yadav.
Squad for fourth and fifth ODIs: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper and vice-captain), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wicket-keeper), Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, and Kuldeep Yadav.
Changes
Changes for last two ODIs
As mentioned, Gill will miss the final two ODIs to focus on the two-match Test series. Therefore, Iyer will take over the mantle, with Ishan Kishan as his deputy.
Meanwhile, Tilak Varma and Kumar Kushagra will also enter the 16-member squad for these two games.
While Tilak has already played for India, Kushagra has earned his maiden call-up.
Bumrah
No Bumrah yet
Bumrah, India's mainstay pacer across formats, has still not returned to the ODI setup.
He has played just two ODIs since the 2023 ICC World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad.
After featuring in the England ODI series this year, Bumrah missed the home series against West Indies.
As part of his workload management, Bumrah is expected to play a key role in the NZ Test series.
Takeaways
A look at other takeaways
India have retained Ruturaj Gaikwad from the West Indies ODI series.
Prasidh Krishna has been included for the first three ODIs, but his availability depends on his fitness.
The right-arm seamer suffered a hamstring injury during the 2nd ODI against the Windies before being replaced by Anshul Kamboj.
The latter is also part of the squad (first three ODIs).