BCCI on Saturday announced the team for the ODI series against New Zealand starting from January 11. Rituraj Gaikwad, who scored a century in the last match, was not selected in the team. Captain Shubman Gill returned and Shreyas Iyer was selected as the vice-captain. The board said that Iyer will be able to play only after fitness clearance by BCCI’s Center of Excellence. Former Indian cricketer Subramaniam is unhappy with the selection of Nitish Kumar Reddy in the team instead of Badrinath Gaikwad.

Former cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath raised questions on the selection of the ODI team against New Zealand. Especially after Rituraj Gaikwad was out and Nitish Kumar Reddy was elected. Giving his opinion in a YouTube video, he said that he could not understand the reason for Nitish’s election. Especially when there are already many experienced all-rounders in the team. According to him, whenever Gaikwad got a chance, he performed well and it is unfortunate to drop him from the team.

What did Badrinath say?

He said, “There are 2 all-rounders in Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, along with them Nitish Kumar Reddy is also in the team. I don’t know why he is in the team. Why is he not in the team and why is Nitish Kumar Reddy in the team? There is definitely something wrong. The rest of the team selections were as expected and very good. The only concern is the selection of Nitish Kumar Reddy in place of Rituraj Gaikwad.”

Rituraj Gaikwad had played a brilliant inning of 105 runs in the second match of the last ODI series, which was his last ODI innings. Their batsman did not come in the third match. He also scored a century (124) against Uttarakhand in Vijay Hazare Trophy.

It is believed that Nitish Kumar Reddy has been selected in the absence of Hardik Pandya. BCCI had said in its statement, “Hardik Pandya has not been given permission by the BCCI COE to bowl 10 overs in a match, and his workload is being managed in view of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.”

India’s ODI squad

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.

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.