India announced their squad for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand on Saturday (January 3).
Gill, Iyer return; Hardik Pandya not cleared to bowl ten overs
The most significant news from the announcement is that ODI captain and vice-captain Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer have returned to the squad after missing the South Africa series in October. Iyer sustained an internal injury to his spleen during the tour of Australia last year, and has since been recovering. His inclusion even in this squad is subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE).
The other inclusion is that of fast bowler Mohammed Siraj. He has been in an out of the 50-over setup of late, playing three games in Australia last October, over a year after his previous appearance in the format. Siraj also missed out on selection for last year's Champions Trophy, which India won.
Read more: Better than Kohli: India ODI batter enters top three among all-time List A averages
The three players missing out from the South Africa series are batters Tilak Varma, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Dhruv Jurel. Two are straight swaps with Gill and Iyer, and Siraj coming in for the third might reflect India wanting cover for the absence of all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
Pandya missed the South Africa series with injury, and the BCCI mentioned that he has not yet been cleared to bowl 10 overs in a match. His workload is also being managed keeping in mind the T20 World Cup starting next month, for which he will be a key player. Pandya scored his maiden List A century in the Vijay Hazare Trophy today, and opened the bowling for Baroda but only sent down two overs.
Overall, four players from the T20 World Cup squad – Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh – are part of the ODI squad. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has also been left out with an eye on the ICC T20 tournament.
Also read: Four 100s in five matches: India batter continues incredible form in Vijay Hazare Trophy
India squad for New Zealand ODIs, full list
Batters: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer* (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Wicketkeepers: KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant.
All-rounders: Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Bowlers: Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh.
*subject to fitness clearance.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
