After Daryl Mitchell continued his incredible run of form against India, the ongoing ODI series lands on a decider. The Rajkot ODI saw New Zealand level the series 1-1 and now the focus is on the Holkar Stadium in Indore, where New Zealand eyes their first-ever ODI win in India. They did the unthinkable by clean sweeping India in Tests not that long ago; it would be a tremendous task to upset the Men in Blue with a far inferior team in terms of experience.
But India won’t let that happen. Unfortunately for them, the toss has played a major role in day-night games in India. The dew factor, the ever-changing nature of the pitch and also India’s poor catching record have often played to their downfall in some games. We saw that against South Africa as well but the Men in Blue eased past them in the decider. After all, the Shubman Gill-led side have almost all the bases covered. But keeping Arshdeep Singh on the bench might not be an option now.
Who should Arshdeep Singh replace in IND vs NZ 3rd ODI?
India have persisted with the pace trio of Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna. Siraj has done well in the powerplay; Krishna has a knack for conceding runs at a high rate but did well in the last game. He’s a middle-over enforcer as well and can be a good prospect for the ODI World Cup 2027 on South African pitches. Harshit Rana, meanwhile, has been the best bowler in the series.
Still, keeping Arshdeep Singh on the bench and watching the team lose just doesn’t feel right. With 132 international wickets at a superb bowling average of 19.9, Arshdeep brings quite a lot to the table. He can find a large amount of swing and seam early on and is one of the best death bowlers in the world. In all likelihood, Arshdeep will replace Krishna in the IND vs NZ 3rd ODI.
A case can be made against Harshit Rana as well, whom India may want to keep fresh for the T20Is. However, his advantage with the bat is something that the Gautam Gambhir-led management loves to have. This would help India challenge Krishna further. But with the series on the line, they may not want to take any risks as well.
Curious case of Nitish Kumar Reddy
It came as a shocker when India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate made a comment against Nitish Kumar Reddy’s performances. After the second ODI, where Reddy failed with the bat and got to bowl just two overs, the coach said that the all-rounder often doesn’t end up ‘doing a heck of a lot’. It was a fascinating take by the management for calling out the 22-year-old who has played just 3 ODIs in his career.
Even in those, he hasn’t got enough chances to bowl. In Indore, his role will be under major focus. To nurture an all-rounder, you need patience, and India should back him, considering there’s a dearth of good pace-bowling all-rounders in the country. In all fairness, NKR should be given a chance to bat at number five. Also, his bowling should be utilised in a better way. Nitish came into this series on the back of a decent Vijay Hazare Trophy with the ball.
Another player who needs performance is Ravindra Jadeja, who has received flak over ordinary performances recently. With no Axar Patel in this team, time is running out for Jadeja as he is yet to justify his selection with either bat or ball. It’s been more than ten years since Jadeja has scored an ODI fifty at home. With the ball, he has the worst average and SR among all Indian bowlers with at least 40 overs since 2025.
Predicted India Playing XI for 3rd ODI vs NZ
- Shubman Gill (C)
- Rohit Sharma
- Virat Kohli
- Shreyas Iyer
- KL Rahul (wk)
- Nitish Kumar Reddy
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Harshit Rana
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Mohammed Siraj
- Arshdeep Singh
- Bench: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ayush Badoni, Dhruv Jurel, Prasidh Krishna
India squad for 3rd ODI vs New Zealand
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Ayush Badoni, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel
