Predicting India's strongest playing XI in the ODI series vs New Zealand

India head into the three-match ODI series against New Zealand with a clear blend of experience and bench depth. The BCCI named Shubman Gill as captain and picked a 15-man squad that mixes senior match-winners with multi-format all-rounders and specialist bowlers — Shreyas Iyer’s inclusion is subject to a fitness check.

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India’s strongest playing eleven for the first ODI may look like this: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj. 

Shubman Gill as captain and top-order option gives India balance. His technique suits the early overs, and he can shepherd partnerships. Rohit can provide contrasting aggression. Rohit’s experience and positional play complement Gill’s appetite to build long innings, giving India a calculated but attacking option. Virat Kohli slots in as the in-form anchor who still accelerates when needed. His position needs no questioning, as he is coming from a red-hot form.

The middle order in Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul supplies both control and finishing options. Iyer, if cleared fit, offers the solidity between 4–6, and Rahul’s wicketkeeping plus batting flexibility lets the team choose matchups without juggling personnel. 

Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, as the all-rounders, give batting depth, left-arm spin, some seam overs and useful lower-order hitting. They give the balance to the team without tinkering much with quality. They also allow India to play an extra seamer when conditions demand.

India’s pace attack of Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh blends pace, left-arm variation and the ability to bowl aggressive middle and death overs. Kuldeep Yadav remains the primary wrist-spin wicket-taker in the middle overs. His recent ODI returns make him India’s go-to spin weapon in subcontinental conditions. That mix covers new-ball aggression, middle-over control and a variety of wicket-taking options across phases.

Small changes in Pant's availability late and Iyer’s fitness could tweak the keeper or the middle order, but this line-up best reflects the squad named and the XI that closed out India’s last ODI series.

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