 "Ruturaj Gaikwad celebrates after completing his maiden ODI century during the second one-dayer between India and South Africa in Raipur. PTI")
Team India unveiled its squad for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand on Saturday, and while some decisions were routine, some others did raise an eyebrow. Captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer, for starters, were scheduled to return in the Men in Blue’s first assignment of 2026, having missed the three-match series against South Africa due to injury.
Jasprit Bumrah was also expected to be rested for the series due to his workload management keeping next month’s T20 World Cup in mind. While senior all-rounder Hardik Pandya was in red-hot form during the T20I series against South Africa, he is yet to be cleared to bowl 10 overs in ODIs, and thus has been left out.
Some other decisions, however, did create some buzz on social media, including Ruturaj Gaikwad getting dropped after scoring a century against the Proteas in Raipur. Or senior pacer Mohammed Shami still getting ignored by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee despite a consistent wicket taker in the domestic circuit and proving his fitness in the question.
Or even Axar Patel being left out of the spin/all-rounder department despite smashing his maiden List A century in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Here are some of the reactions to India’s squad for the New Zealand one-dayers :