The next ODI series of the Indian cricket team is against New Zealand, the first match of which will be played on 11 January. BCCI announced the ODI team on Saturday, in which captain Shubhman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer have returned. However, despite scoring a century in the last match, Ruturaj Gaikwad did not get a place, due to which some fans on social media are criticizing Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar and Coach Gautam Gambhir.

Ruturaj Gaikwad had scored 105 runs in the second ODI played against South Africa in Raipur, but he did not bat in the third match of the series. Gaikwad played a brilliant inning of 124 runs against Uttarakhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on 31 December, despite being dropped from the ODI team against New Zealand.

What did Ravichandran Ashwin write?

After the announcement of the ODI team against New Zealand, former cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin made a post on X. He posted a photo of Rituraj Gaikwad and hashtagged his name, writing, “No matter how you feel. Get up, get ready, wear pads, go to the field and never give up. It may be difficult to ignore, but such is the competition for a place in the Indian team.”

No matter how you feel.

Get up, dress up, pad up, show up and never give up.

It can be hard to miss but such is the competition for places in the Indian team. #RuturajGaikwad pic.twitter.com/A1taarpMdF

— Ashwin (@ashwinravi99) January 3, 2026

Criticism is being received on social media

One user wrote, “BCCI is doing the same again! Recently dropped Ruturaj Gaikwad from the team despite his ODI century and excellent domestic form, only to make way for the returning players. Continuity? Merit? What is all this?”

BCCI at it again! Dropping Ruturaj Gaikwad after his recent ODI century and stellar domestic form, just to accommodate returning players.

Consistency? Merit? What’s that?

#BCCI #IndianCricket #RuturajGaikwad pic.twitter.com/OfUGhMy9Vf

— Shreya (@shreyagenai) January 3, 2026

Questions are also being raised on the selection of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar, while many fans are raising questions as to what does the performance and form in the domestic tournament mean? Many fans are angry at Mohammed Shami being ignored, who are asking questions to the selection committee on social media as to why he is being kept out to bring a player like him.

India’s ODI squad against New Zealand

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

IND vs NZ ODI Series: The Indian cricket team is going to start the year 2026 with a home series against New Zealand. The first three-match ODI series will be played between the two teams, after which there will be five T20 international matches. The first match of the ODI series is to be played on January 11 in Vadodara, but the Indian team has not been announced yet. Now an important update has come out regarding this.

Big update regarding ODI team selection

According to media reports, the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar can announce India’s ODI team by January 4. According to Times of India, the selectors can give their decision on the team on Saturday or Sunday. Team captain Shubman Gill will also participate in this meeting through video conferencing. Gill is currently playing for Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26, due to which he will not be able to be present in person in the selection meeting.

Shubman Gill’s return confirmed, eye on vice-captain

In this series, Shubman Gill can once again be seen taking command of Team India. Earlier, KL Rahul had captained the ODI series against South Africa and India won that series 2-1. Now the selectors are in a mood to make Gill the captain again. At the same time, the situation regarding the return of vice-captain Shreyas Iyer is not clear yet and the final decision on this will be taken in the meeting.

New Zealand has already announced the team

While the Indian team is awaited, New Zealand has announced both its ODI and T20 teams. All-rounder Michael Bracewell will captain New Zealand in the ODI series. Regular captain Mitchell Santner will not take part in the ODI series, but he will lead the team in the T20 series.

New Zealand’s playing 11

Michael Bracewell (captain), Aditya Ashok, Kristen Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Devon Conway, Jack Fox, Mitch Hay (wicketkeeper), Kyle Jamieson, Nick Kelly, Jayden Lennox, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Michael Ray, Will Young

Ajit Agarkar married Fatima Gadiyali, who is his friend’s sister, on 9 February 2022. It was not easy for Agarkar to marry Fatima, because both of them have different religions. Agarkar is a Hindu Pandit and Fatima is a Muslim, but they say that when there is true love, the loving couple can fight any power in the world. Here we are telling you about the love story of Ajit Agarkar, who has played 221 international matches for India.

Fatima is the sister of Agarkar’s friend

Ajit Agarkar became friends with Fatima because of his brother, Mazhar Gadiyali, a resident of Mumbai, also played cricket and was Agarkar’s friend. Agarkar used to visit Mazhar’s house many times, during this time he became friends with Fatima. Then Fatima was a management consultant in a company. She often went to the ground to watch her brother’s matches. Fatima liked Agarkar’s simplicity very much.

It was not easy for Agarkar to marry a Muslim girl.

Ajit and Fatima’s friendship gradually turned into love. However, the path of this love was not easy. Ajit Agarkar is a Hindu Pandit and Fatima is of Muslim religion. In those times, it was very challenging to get married in a different religion than it is today. Many people were against this marriage. Then Agarkar and Fatima decided that they would not let religion come in the way of their love.

Agarkar and Fatima convinced their family for this marriage. The relationship between the two was revealed for the first time in 2001, a year later on February 9, 2022, both of them got married. Only close friends and relatives attended the wedding, whereas the entire Indian team attended the wedding reception. Fatima and Agarkar have been together for 23 years, there has never been any news of any dispute between them. They have a son, whose name is Raj.

Ajit Agarkar’s cricket career

Agarkar is currently the chief selector of the Indian cricket team. Talking about Agarkar’s cricket career, he played 26 Tests, 191 ODIs and 4 T20 International matches for India between 1998 and 2007, in which he took 58, 288 and 3 wickets respectively.

The stir has once again intensified in Indian cricket. Just before the second ODI against South Africa, BCCI has called a meeting with head coach Gautam Gambhir, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and some top officials of the board. This meeting being organized a few hours before the match is giving many big signals.

Why the sudden meeting?

According to the report of Sportstar, BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia, Joint Secretary Prabhtej Singh Bhatia, Coach Gautam Gambhir and Selection Committee Chairman Ajit Agarkar will be present in this meeting. It is not clear whether new BCCI President Mithun Manhas will attend it or not. However, it is very unlikely that Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma or any senior player will be called in this meeting.

According to the BCCI official, the purpose of this meeting is, “to bring continuity in team selection and clarity on future plans.”

Test series defeat increases concern

The recent defeat in the home Test series against South Africa has forced the board to think about many questions. The main focus of this meeting will be,

– Wrong strategy of the team in recent matches

-Communication gap between management and players

-Strengthening long-term team plans

A senior official says, “Many times in the home Test season, strange decisions have been seen on and off the field. There are still eight months for the next Test series, so we want to make all our preparations first.”

Big decisions regarding T20 and ODI World Cup

India will enter the T20 World Cup next year to defend the title. Whereas after that the ODI World Cup is also ahead. In such a situation, the board does not want to take any kind of risk. According to a top official, “India is going to be a top contender in the next two big ICC tournaments, so it is important to resolve all the strategic issues immediately.”

Kohli-Rohit’s role also discussed?

For some time now there has been a strong discussion that the board wanted to convince Virat Kohli to return to Test cricket. However, after Ranchi ODI, Kohli himself has clearly ruled out the possibility of any kind of comeback. It is also believed that there are some differences between the management, selection committee and senior players, which efforts are being made to resolve.

The results of this meeting can affect the direction and selection policy of Team India in a big way in the coming days. This “sudden meeting” taken just before the second ODI has further increased the curiosity among the fans.

India vs South Africa 3 ODI match series is starting from 30th November. This will be Team India’s last ODI series in the year 2025. Meanwhile, there is news that BCCI is preparing to hold a meeting, in which the future of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in ODI cricket (Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ODI Future) and their playing in the 2027 ODI World Cup is possible to be discussed.

The final ODI match of India vs South Africa series will be played on 6 December in Visakhapatnam. According to a report of Times of India, after this last ODI match, high officials of BCCI, Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar, Head Coach Gautam Gambhir can hold a meeting in Ahmedabad.

Nothing has been decided yet on whether Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will play in the 2027 World Cup or not. If Rohit and Virat are not able to play the 2027 World Cup, then in such a situation, there have been reports of the team management preparing a backup plan.

A BCCI source was quoted by Times of India as saying, “It is very important that players of the stature of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are made clear as to what the team management expects from them. They cannot play surrounded by uncertainties.” According to the report, BCCI has asked Rohit Sharma not to worry about his future and only focus on his fitness and performance.

The future of both the senior players seems to be in danger because Rohit and Virat will play ODI matches at an interval of several months. However, both of them had indicated that they were in good form in the series against Australia. On one hand, Rohit Sharma was the highest run scorer in the entire series by scoring 202 runs. He also scored a century. On the other hand, Virat Kohli had flopped in the first two ODI matches against Australia, but he also silenced his critics by scoring unbeaten 74 runs in the third match.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday evening announced the team for the Test series against South Africa. Rishabh Pant returned to the team as vice-captain under the captaincy of Shubman Gill, Akash Deep was also included but once again fast bowler Mohammed Shami was ignored. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on him along with Pant. Shami was seen with selector RP Singh in Ranji Trophy, after which the discussion on him intensified.

Last time, the reason for Mohammed Shami’s exclusion was fitness. Shami is currently playing for Bengal team in Ranji Trophy, where he took 7 wickets against Uttarakhand and 8 wickets against Gujarat. After taking 15 wickets in 2 matches, it seemed that Shami could be included in the Test series against South Africa, but it did not happen.

Gambhir-Agarkar criticized on social media

A fan wrote on social media, “This management is ignoring older players. We have examples of this, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ashwin and now Shami.” Another fan wrote, “There is no place for Mohammed Shami in the Indian team for the South Africa Test! It is difficult to be like Mohammed Shami, he deserves better than this.”

One fan wrote, “Why is Mohammed Shami not in the team? Is his fitness a matter of concern despite all the hard work in Ranji Trophy and other competitions? Could this be the end of Shami playing for India?”

why is @MdShami11 not in the squad?

Is his fitness still a concern even after his hard work in the Ranji Trophy and other competitions?

Could this be the end of Mohammed Shami’s time playing for India?#MohammedShami #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/z2nI0ipjhL

— Rohit Sharma Fan (@hitmanfanfollow) November 5, 2025

No Mohammed Shami for South Africa Tests!

He’s played all three Ranji Trophy games for Bengal this season, picking 15 wickets at 15.53, SR 37.2#Shami #INDvSA

— Vishwa Prakash Yadav (@vishwaprakash09) November 5, 2025

India’s test squad against South Africa

Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper, vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammad Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep.

Mohammed Shami has not been able to make a place in the national team since the Champions Trophy. A few days ago, the fast bowler had given a big statement saying that BCCI did not contact him for information about his fitness. Whereas Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar had said that Shami is not in the team due to fitness. Now Shami is dominating the Ranji Trophy, he took 7 wickets in the first match and 8 wickets in the second match against Gujarat. He took 5 wickets in the second innings, after which he said a big thing while talking to the media.

Responding to Agarkar’s statement, Mohammed Shami had said, “It is not my responsibility to give updates on my fitness, my job is to go to NCA, prepare and play the matches, it is their matter who gives them updates, who does not. It is not my responsibility.”

Responding to this, Agarkar had said that he had talked to Shami about his not being selected and if he has any problem then he will talk to him again. Agarkar also said that the BCCI medical team does not feel that he is ready to play international matches. Responding to this, Shami had earlier said, “Let them say whatever they want.”

Chief selector and Mohammed Shami were seen face to face, meanwhile recently appointed BCCI selector (Central Zone) RP Singh went to meet Shami during the Ranji Trophy match, he was seen talking to Shami.

What did Mohammed Shami say after taking 5 wickets against Gujarat?

After taking 5 wickets against Gujarat in Ranji Trophy, Bengal player Mohammed Shami exercised restraint while talking to journalists and took care not to say anything controversial. He said, “

I am always in controversies, you (media) have made me such a bowler. If I speak, there will be an uproar. What should I say now? I can’t blame you, everyone does it. People say anything even on social media.”

A fake news spread on social media on Monday shocked and angered former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu. In fact, a social media user made a statement in the name of Sidhu viral, in which it was claimed that he had targeted Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar and said that if India has to win the 2027 World Cup, then these two should be immediately removed and Rohit Sharma should be made the captain again, but the reality was something else.

Sidhu’s statement goes viral

This post went viral just before the start of India vs Australia ODI series, after which Sidhu himself had to come forward and refute it. Sidhu clearly said that this statement is completely fake and he has no involvement in it. Responding to that user, he said, “I never said that. Don’t spread fake news, you should be ashamed.”

However, after Sidhu’s reply, that post was immediately deleted. This incident is a reminder of how quickly false news spreads on social media and how it can damage people’s image.

Controversy started after India-Australia match

This fake post came to light when India lost the first match of the three-match ODI series against Australia in Perth. The Indian team led by Shubman Gill had to face defeat by 7 wickets.

The performance of Indian batsmen was very disappointing in the rain-affected match. The team scored 136/9, which Australia achieved easily.

Poor performance of Kohli-Rohit

The special thing about this match was the return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to international cricket after seven months. The bats of both the giants remained silent in the first match. For the first time in Australia, Kohli was out for a duck in 8 balls without opening the account, while Rohit could score only 8 runs.

Australian captain Mitchell Marsh played an unbeaten inning of 42 runs and led the team to an easy victory.

When is the next match?

Now the second ODI between the two teams will be played in Adelaide on 23 October, where India will have a chance to make a comeback in the series.

A social media post of former Indian cricket team’s legendary batsman and current famous cricket commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu is going viral. It has been said in this post that if India wants to win the 2027 World Cup, then BCCI should immediately remove Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar. Also, with full respect, the captaincy should be handed over to Rohit Sharma once again. After this post, Sidhu is being criticized a lot. However, the question is whether Navjot Singh Sidhu has really said this? Here you will get the answer.

For your information, let us tell you that Navjot Singh Sidhu himself has told the truth of the viral post. Sidhu wrote on social media, “Shame on you. I never said this. Don’t spread false news. This cannot even be imagined.” From this it becomes clear that the viral post is completely fake. In the era of AI, many times wrong posts in the name of former cricketers go viral. Something similar has happened this time too.

See Sidhu’s viral post

Navjot Singh Sidhu reacted to the fake news #CricketTwitter #INDvsAUS #gautamgambhir pic.twitter.com/op03xzGPic

— Cricket Craze (@cricket12craze) October 20, 2025

Sidhu told the truth of the viral post

Never said it, don’t spread fake news, never imagined it. Shame on you https://t.co/qCZlwaUrwK

— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) October 20, 2025

Shubman Gill has been made ODI captain

It is noteworthy that before the Australia tour, 26 year old Shubman Gill has been appointed as the ODI captain of India. Before this he had been given the command of the Test team. Gill was more than successful in his first assignment as captain in England. However, Gill could not win his first match as captain in ODI. Earlier the command of the ODI team was in the hands of Rohit Sharma. Rohit had won the 2025 Champions Trophy for India this year, but considering his age, he has been handed over to captain Gill.

Indian cricket team is going to get a new chief selector, very soon Ravi Shastri can be appointed as the new chief selector. We are not saying this, but social media is full of such claims. It is being said that very soon Ravi Shastri can replace Ajit Agarkar. Agarkar has been the chief selector of the Indian team since July 2023. But is Ravi Shastri really going to return to Team India after 4 years? Know here what is the truth of this viral claim.

Will Team India get a new chief selector?

It is being claimed on social media that Ravi Shastri is going to become the new Chief Selector of Team India in place of Ajit Agarkar. ABP Live investigated this viral post and found that this news is completely fake. Usually, BCCI issues a statement for appointment to such a vacant post, but no statement has been issued yet regarding the appointment to the post of Chief Selector.

Ravi Shastri himself has not given any statement in this regard nor has any statement from Ajit Agarkar come out on this. Ravi Shastri has been the head coach of Team India and stepped down from the post of coach after the 2021 T20 World Cup. But now the rumors of his returning to the post of Chief Selector in Team India after 4 years are completely false.

When will Ajit Agarkar’s tenure end?

Ajit Agarkar was made the chief selector of Team India in July, just a few months before the 2023 ODI World Cup. He recently told that being the Chief Selector is the most difficult job. Agarkar had said that India is filled with so much talent, it is very difficult to choose among them. His tenure has been extended till June 2026.

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Team India could not give the gift of victory on Diwali, Australia won the first ODI; Mitchell Marsh shines