BCCI announces India’s ODI squad for New Zealand series; Ruturaj Gaikwad axed

On Saturday, December 3, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s 15-man ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series against New Zealand, which is scheduled to start on Sunday, January 11 in Vadodara.

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While Shubman Gill will return as ODI captain, Shreyas Iyer will be the vice-captain, as the star pacer Mohammed Siraj also made his comeback to the squad, with the premium all-rounder Hardik Pandya being rested.

Notably, Gill, Iyer, and Siraj returned to the squad, replacing Tilak Varma, Dhruv Jurel, and Ruturaj Gaikwad, emerging as the only changes to the squad that beat South Africa 2-1. Gill and Iyer are expected to play a Vijay Hazare Trophy match each on January 6 before India's squad gets together. 

For the unversed, Gill was ruled out of the recent South Africa ODI series because of a neck spasm suffered during the Kolkata Test, while Iyer is making his return from a spleen injury he sustained against Australia Down Under. On the other hand, Siraj last played for India in ODIs in the Australian tour Down Under.

“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,” the BCCI statement read.

The ODI series against New Zealand commences on Sunday, January 11, in Vadodara before they head to Rajkot for the second ODI on Wednesday, January 14. The series concludes with the third ODI on Sunday, January 18, in Indore. 

India’s ODI squad for the New Zealand series:

Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer (vc)*, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. 

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*subject to fitness clearance.

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