Indian cricket team’s first series this year is against New Zealand, whose first match is on 11 January. BCCI has not yet announced the team for this 3-match ODI series. It is likely that the Indian team will be announced on Saturday, January 3. Before this, former cricketer Aakash Chopra has chosen his team.

India’s last ODI series was against South Africa, in which KL Rahul captained in the absence of Shubman Gill. India had won this series by 2-1. Virat Kohli had scored a century in 2 out of 3 matches and a half-century in one. Rohit Sharma and Kohli are in great form.

Aakash Chopra included Shubman Gill as captain in his team, although the surprising thing was that he also included Rituraj Gaikwad in his team. Actually, in the last series, Gaikwad was a part of the team due to Gill’s absence. The former cricketer chose Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul as the 2 wicketkeepers in his team while not Dhruv Jurel or Ishan Kishan. Let us tell you that Pant was a part of the team in the last ODI series, but he did not get a place in the playing 11.

What is Rishabh Pant’s mistake?

Aakash Chopra said, “I will keep Rishabh Pant at number-14, although there will be talk on why Pant was included, why not Ishan Kishan or Dhruv Jurel? You can keep anyone, but tell me what is Pant’s fault?”

‘Shreyas Iyer’s exit is certain’

Regarding the inclusion of Ruturaj Gaikwad in the team, Aakash Chopra said that Shreyas Iyer is almost certain to be out of the series as he has not got the clearance yet and hence, Gaikwad can continue to play at number 4 or 5.

Aakash Chopra said, “The update on Shreyas Iyer is that he will not be available for this series. So don’t be surprised if his name is not in the team, and if his name is not there, then Gaikwad will continue to play at number four. KL Rahul has been kept at number 5 as a wicketkeeper, batsman and probably the vice-captain in the team.”

Aakash Chopra also included Mohammed Siraj in his team, who last played against Australia in October. However, Chopra also did not give place to Mohammed Shami in his team.

Indian team selected by Aakash Chopra

Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul, Axar Patel/Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Tilak Verma, Harshit Rana, Mohammad Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya will not play in India’s next ODI series, which starts from January 11. On the India tour, the New Zealand team will play a 5-match T20 series after the 3-match ODI series, which will be the last opportunity to test the preparations for the T20 World Cup 2026.

According to the report of Cricbuzz, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya will be rested in the 3-match ODI series against New Zealand. Both will return in the upcoming 5 T20 match series, for which BCCI has announced the team.

Keep a close eye on Bumrah’s workload

Jasprit Bumrah has not played any ODI for India since the 2023 World Cup. According to the report, the fast bowler’s workload is being closely monitored. The next main target of BCCI is the T20 World Cup, which is to be held in India and Sri Lanka between February 7 and 8.

Resting Jasprit Bumrah from the ODI series against New Zealand means that the board does not want Bumrah to be given the load in matches which are not very important. Especially when the T20 World Cup 2026 will start within 10 days of the 5-match T20 series.

The board does not want to give load to Hardik also

Hardik Pandya has been the main player of the team for some time as an all-rounder, who is performing brilliantly with bat and ball. He can bowl in powerplay and death overs. Although he has not played any ODI since the Champions Trophy, his exclusion was due to fitness reasons. In such a situation, he can also be rested in the ODI series against New Zealand, which is not a very important series.

Domestic cricket is also an important aspect in Hardik’s case. According to the report, he can play 2 matches for Baroda in Vijay Hazare Trophy.

India vs New Zealand ODI series schedule

• 11 January- Vadodara
• 14 January- Rajkot
• 18 January- Indore

The next international series of the Indian cricket team is against New Zealand. The India tour will start with a series of 3 ODI matches, the first match of which will be held on January 11 at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara. BCCI can announce the team in the first week of January. 2 changes are possible in the team.

Indian Test and ODI team captain Shubman Gill was injured in the first Test against South Africa. He suffered a leg injury, after which he was out of the Test and then the entire ODI series. Although he returned from the T20 series, his performance was poor. The result of this was that he was not selected in the team for the T20 World Cup.

Will Shreyas Iyer return?

Talking about Shreyas Iyer, he was badly injured during the Australia tour, he is currently undergoing rehabilitation process at BCCI’s Center of Excellence. The good thing is that Iyer has started practicing batting in the nets, which is very good news for his comeback.

Difficult to have Ishaan or Padikkal in the team

Ishan Kishan and Devdutt Padikkal are performing brilliantly in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but right now there is no place for them in the team. Ishaan has been selected for the T20 World Cup and the T20 series against New Zealand, but he may have to wait for the ODIs. On the other hand, despite Vijay Hazare scoring two consecutive centuries, it seems difficult for Padikkal to be selected in the team.

Tilak Verma and Dhruv Jurel will be out

With the arrival of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Verma and Dhruv Jurel will have to be out. KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant will be included in the team as 2 wicketkeepers, Tilak Verma may also have to go out, who was the backup of Rituraj Gaikwad.

Pandya and Bumrah rested

Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah can be rested from the ODI series. Both are important players in the T20 World Cup, due to workload management they will be rested from the ODI series against New Zealand. He has not played in the last 2 ODI series for India, and this will continue.

Akshar Patel did not play in the ODI against South Africa, the BCCI did not give the reason that he was rested and was ruled out. He may also be out of the ODI series against New Zealand. Ravindra Jadeja may get his last chance, whose performance in the last few matches in this format has not been good. He was dropped from the team in Australia and could not impress with the ball against South Africa.

India’s probable ODI squad against New Zealand

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