India ODI squad vs NZ announced: Skipper Gill and deputy Iyer return as Pandya remains sidelined due to injury

Shubman Gill returned as captain of the Indian ODI side on Saturday (3 January) as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the series against New Zealand. India and New Zealand will play three ODIs on 11, 14 and 18 January at Vadodara, Rajkot and Indore.

Also returning to the squad is vice-captain Shreyas Iyer, who has been out of action since he suffered a serious injury during the third ODI against Australia in Sydney in late October. KL Rahul – who had led the Men in Blue in the three-match series against South Africa in Gill’s absence, has been retained as the wicketkeeper-batter with Rishabh Pant as his deputy.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, however, has been dropped from India’s ODI squad despite scoring a century against South Africa in Raipur earlier this month, with Pant beating him to the second keeper-batter’s slot. Also dropped from the ODI squad is Dhruv Jurel, who is yet to make his debut in the 50-over format and had last represented India in white-ball cricket back in January.

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Pandya yet to be cleared for ODIs

Senior all-rounder Hardik Pandya, meanwhile, was left out after failing to obtain a clearance from the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence to bowl 10 overs.

“Hardik Pandya has not been cleared by the BCCI COE to bowl 10 overs in a match and considering the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to follow, his workload is being managed,” read a statement from the board on Saturday.

Pandya had recently featured in India’s T20I series victory over South Africa earlier this month, starring with bat as well as ball as the Suryakumar Yadav-led Men in Blue triumphed by a 3-1 margin.

And in his last competitive appearance, he had smashed 133 off 92 balls and bowled a couple of overs during Baroda’s Group B fixture against Vidarbha in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, India’s premier domestic List A competition.

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The board’s statement added that Iyer’s participation in the series is also subject to the CoE’s nod of approval.

“Shreyas Iyer’s availability is subject to fitness clearance from BCCI COE,” the BCCI said.

No room for Shami

Additionally, senior paceman Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the New Zealand one-dayers keeping his workload in the T20I series as well as next month’s T20 World Cup in mind. Mohammed Siraj, instead, has been brought back to lead the attack in his absence.

Senior pacer Mohammed Shami, who had last represented India in the ICC Champions Trophy in March, remains sidelined despite being a consistent performer in the domestic circuit this season, with the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee making it clear they are looking towards the future.

As for the spin department, Kuldeep Yadav has been picked as the lone frontline option alongside all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.

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, Mohd Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.