The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced India’s squad for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand. While Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer’s return is the talking point, one has to wonder why some players have been left out of the squad.
Gaikwad, Jurel & Tilak dropped
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Varma have had to accommodate Shubman and Shreyas’ return. The former would especially feel hard done by. He played in all three matches against South Africa, scoring his maiden ODI hundred in the process. But he has been dropped, with Yashasvi Jaiswal getting preference as the backup.
Tilak warmed the bench and was the backup to Gaikwad. Therefore, it makes sense that he has been dropped. Similarly, Dhruv Jurel was the backup wicketkeeper to Rishabh Pant. Mohammed Siraj, who wasn’t picked against Australia, has come back to the team at his own expense.
Selectors continue to look past Shami
Mohammed Shami’s absence from Team India continues. Reports had suggested that the selectors were keen on bringing the veteran pacer back after he proved his fitness in domestic cricket. Shami has taken 16 wickets in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2025-26, the most for Bengal and the 8th highest overall. But the selectors don’t think he’s better than the likes of Siraj, Harshit Rana, or Prasidh Krishna.
Padikkal & Kishan unlucky
Ishan Kishan was rumoured to replace Pant and come in as KL Rahul’s replacement for New Zealand. After his Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025-26 exploits earned him a place in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, the BCCI was expected to grant him an ODI call-up. Kishan had scored a hundred against Karnataka in the VHT but was on rest for the 3 matches.
Devdutt Padikkal has scored 4 hundreds in 5 matches in the ongoing VHT. His performance has been otherworldly. Currently, he averages 83.38 with 13 hundreds in 38 List A games. But, unluckily for Padikkal, no spot is up for grabs. If someone like Gaikwad, who scored a hundred in his last ODI series, can’t get a place, how can he?
Is Axar Patel rested?
3 players from Gujarat have been rested. BCCI has confirmed that Hardik Pandya hasn’t been cleared to bowl 10 overs per game and, as a result, won’t take part in the India vs New Zealand ODI series. Jasprit Bumrah hasn’t played an ODI since October 19, 2023. It’s clear that he will only feature in the format once the preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup commence.
The most curious case is that of Axar Patel. He went to Australia, with Ajit Agarkar stating that he was their pick ahead of Ravindra Jadeja. But he hasn’t been picked since. One can assume that perhaps BCCI is resting him, like Pandya and Bumrah. Perhaps, they want to try Jadeja and check where he stands. Or maybe, they are resting Axar to keep him fresh for the T20 World Cup. One can’t forget that he had been injured during the South Africa series.
India’s ODI squad for New Zealand series
Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer (vc)*, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal
Note: *Shreyas Iyer’s availability is subject to fitness clearance from BCCI COE
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