Arshdeep Singh has warmed the bench in Vadodara and Rajkot. Ravichandran Ashwin has been one of the strongest advocates for the left-arm pacer’s inclusion. The former Indian spinner thinks Arshdeep has been hard done by the management. To Arshdeep and Ashwin’s delight, the 26-year-old could feature in the India vs New Zealand 3rd ODI.
The Indian management has openly admitted that selections are being made keeping the ODI World Cup 2027 in mind. Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested. Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj have been brought back, and Prasidh Krishna has taken over as the middle-overs enforcer.
Harshit Rana, in form
In the testing mode, captain Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir are expected to make a few changes. Normally, you’d drop someone like Harshit Rana. He recently featured in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and has been selected for the T20 World Cup 2026. His workload needs to be managed. However, do you want to break his rhythm?
In Harshit’s last 10 competitive matches, he’s failed to pick up a wicket just once. You want him to build on that confidence and take it to the T20I series and the World Cup. Similarly, you want to give Arshdeep Singh some confidence. He hasn’t played a match since January 6.
Arshdeep Singh in; who goes out?
To bring Arshdeep in, you’ll have to drop one of Siraj or Prasidh. The former has been exceptional in the India vs New Zealand ODI series. Despite bowling in the powerplay and death overs, Siraj has an economy of just 4.76. Meanwhile, Prasidh has been his usual costly self. He’s gone at 6.05 runs per over. However, he has picked up 3 wickets, compared to Siraj’s two.
If the team management decides to drop Siraj, they can continue with Harshit as the second new-ball fast bowler and Prasidh as the middle-overs enforcer. If they continue with Siraj, Arshdeep will take the new ball instead of Harshit, who’ll take over from Prasidh.
Now, Harshit has all the skills to deliver in the middle overs. In fact, barring Bumrah, he’s the only other Indian fast bowler who has the skills to operate in all phases. Plus, he’s the only Indian pacer who has batting ability. He’s virtually a lock-in with Bumrah, and it’s the other three who’ll have to fight for the remaining spot.
India’s squad for 3rd New Zealand ODI
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ayush Badoni, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk)
