Shubman Gill will lead India’s 15-man one-day squad against New Zealand next week, with Shreyas Iyer named vice-captain provided the Mumbai batter comes through one more fitness test. Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj is also back, while Hardik Pandya sits out as part of workload management.
The three-match series starts in Vadodara on 11 January, moves to Rajkot on 14 January and finishes in Indore on 18 January.
Selections and omissions
• In: Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj
• Out: Tilak Varma, Dhruv Jurel, Ruturaj Gaikwad
(Iyer’s inclusion remains subject to final clearance)
Gill missed December’s one-dayers in South Africa with a neck spasm picked up during the Kolkata Test. He has since played the T20Is on that tour and is expected to make a Vijay Hazare Trophy appearance for Punjab on 6 January – “food poisoning”, not the neck, kept him out of their last outing.
Iyer has not played competitive cricket since a spleen injury cut short India’s tour of Australia in October. He batted pain-free in a practice game at the National Cricket Academy on 2 January and is pencilled in to face Himachal Pradesh in Jaipur this Saturday. If that goes well, he slots back into the middle order.
Siraj, whose last ODI came in Australia fifteen months ago, has been a constant in the Test set-up and recently turned out for Hyderabad in both the Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare competitions. The selectors like the rhythm he showed there and see him as the leader of a seam unit that also includes Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh.
Gaikwad can feel slightly unlucky after a run-a-ball 105 from No. 4 in Raipur, yet the top six is suddenly crowded again: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal and two keeper-batters, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, sit alongside Gill and, fitness permitting, Iyer. Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja and the uncapped all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy round out the options, while Kuldeep Yadav is the sole wrist-spinner.
Workload call on Hardik
The Board of Control for Cricket in India pointed to the looming T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA when resting Hardik. The medical staff, the statement said, are not yet comfortable with the all-rounder delivering a full quota in 50-over cricket. “Hardik has not yet been cleared by the Centre of Excellence to bowl 10 overs in a game,” the release read. The plan is to have him peaking over four-overs spells by early February.
Why Gill as captain?
Had Hardik been available he would have led, but the selectors have gone back to their original white-ball order: Gill in ODIs, Suryakumar Yadav in T20Is, with Rohit and Kohli still core senior players but no longer captains in the shorter formats. It is tidy on paper; how it works in practice is less certain, especially when the 50-over Champions Trophy is now only a year away.
Early reaction
A senior official, speaking on background, insisted the panel wanted “continuity” from the side that beat South Africa 2-1. One former selector told me over the phone that Siraj’s recall “was overdue” given his experience with the Kookaburra ball. A current domestic coach, meanwhile, argued that Gaikwad “deserved one more look” but acknowledged the squeeze: “You can only take fifteen.”
Schedule at a glance
11 Jan – 1st ODI, Vadodara
14 Jan – 2nd ODI, Rajkot
18 Jan – 3rd ODI, Indore
India squad: Shubman Gill (capt), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer (vc), Rishabh Pant (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh. subject to fitness.
Plenty, then, depends on two players returning from the treatment table. If Gill’s neck and Iyer’s side hold up, India suddenly look near full strength. If not, the selectors may have to scramble again before New Zealand touch down.
