Pacer Mohammed Siraj has also returned to the squad for the ODI series against New Zealand.
Despite being in excellent form with the bat in 50-over cricket, Ruturaj Gaikwad has failed to retain his place in the national team. In his most recent series for India, he got the opportunity to bat in two innings and scored a century in one of them. In domestic cricket, he followed it up with a hundred and a fifty in his last two matches. Even with such consistent performances, Ruturaj has been left out of India’s ODI squad for the New Zealand series.
As expected, captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer have both returned to the team.
India announced a 15-member squad on Saturday for the three-match home series. Pacer Mohammed Siraj has also been recalled.
From the ODI series against South Africa at home last November–December, Ruturaj was not the only player to miss out this time. Dhruv Jurel and Tilak Varma have also been dropped. India won that series 2–1, but Jurel and Tilak did not get a chance to play in any of the matches.
Ruturaj scored just eight runs in the first ODI of that series but bounced back strongly in the second match, coming in at number four and scoring a brilliant 105 off 83 balls. He did not get the opportunity to bat in the third ODI.
The 28-year-old has continued his fine run in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy as well. Leading Maharashtra, Ruturaj scored 124 against Uttarakhand last Wednesday and followed it up with 66 against Mumbai on Saturday. However, even after such consistent performances, he could not secure his spot in the national side.
Gill had suffered a neck injury during the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata. He missed the remainder of that match as well as the second Test and was later ruled out of the ODI series too.
After recovering, Gill made his return to the team in the T20 series against South Africa. Now, India will have him back in ODIs as well.
Shreyas Iyer, meanwhile, suffered a serious injury during the Australia tour in October while attempting a catch. He was hospitalized, and scans revealed damage to his spleen along with internal bleeding. As his condition worsened, the Indian batter was even kept in the ICU.
Shreyas has been out of action since that injury. Although he has been included in the squad against New Zealand, his participation remains uncertain. He will only be able to play if he passes the fitness tests.
Before the ODI series against the Kiwis begins, both Gill and Shreyas are expected to play matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Siraj last played an ODI during the Australia tour in October. He is currently featuring in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and had earlier played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Hyderabad.
As expected, India’s in-form star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are part of the squad. They will be joined in the batting lineup by Yashasvi Jaiswal, subject to fitness clearance, along with wicketkeeper-batters KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant.
The squad also includes spin-bowling all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, along with pace-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. Kuldeep Yadav is the only specialist spinner in the team.
In the pace department, Siraj will be supported by Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, and Arshdeep Singh.
Experienced pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who has not played an ODI since the 2023 World Cup, has once again been left out. Hardik Pandya, who last played an ODI in March, has also not been recalled, as the BCCI wants to manage his workload with the upcoming T20 World Cup in mind.
The India–New Zealand ODI series will begin next Sunday, with the remaining two matches scheduled for January 14 and 18.
India ODI squad for the New Zealand series
Shubman Gill (captain), Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.
