Team India will begin 2026 with a white-ball series against New Zealand ahead of the T20 World Cup. They will first play a three-match ODI series, which starts in Vadodara on Sunday, January 11.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already announced a 15-member side for the 50-over series. Shubman Gill will return as captain after missing out on the previous ODI series against South Africa due to an injury. Like Gill, Shreyas Iyer is making a comeback after recovering from an injury that he sustained during the ODI series against Australia Down Under last year.
Notably, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested to manage their workload ahead of the T20 World Cup.
India’s squad for ODI series vs NZ: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer (VC)*, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal
Here we take a look at five players who played in the last home ODI series against the Kiwis but didn’t retain their spots for the forthcoming games:
Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav was a regular member of the Indian cricket team in 2023. The right-handed batter scored 31 and 14 in his two innings during the ODI series against New Zealand. The 35-year-old has not played a 50-over match since the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia, where he managed 18 runs as India lost the title.
The Mumbai batter has amassed 773 runs in 37 matches (35 innings) at an average of 25.76, including four half-centuries. The selectors have moved past Yadav in the 50-over format. The T20I skipper is also under fire for his poor form ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan was India’s backup wicketkeeper for KL Rahul during the 2023 ODI series against the BlackCaps. This was because Rishabh Pant was undergoing rehab after a life-threatening injury in December 2022.
Kishan entered the series on the back of his double ODI ton against Bangladesh, but returned with scores of 5, 8*, and 17 against the Kiwis in the three-match series.
The 27-year-old played his last ODI against Afghanistan in 2023. In 27 matches (24 innings), he’s amassed 933 runs at an average of 42.40, including a double ton and seven fifties.
Shardul Thakur
Shardul Thakur was also a regular during New Zealand’s last ODI tour of India. The medium pacer emerged as the joint-highest wicket-taker alongside Kuldeep Yadav, bagging six wickets. The all-rounder also chipped in with 25 in the third game. Like Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, Shardul played his last ODI in 2023, which came against Bangladesh.
In 47 ODIs, Shardul has bagged 65 wickets at an economy rate of 6.22, including three four-wicket hauls. He also amassed 329 runs in 25 innings with the best score of an unbeaten 50 against South Africa.
Mohammad Shami
Mohammad Shami has been ignored once again for the ODI series against New Zealand after getting ignored against Australia and South Africa. The selectors chose Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna over the 35-year-old pacer.
Shami last played for India when they clinched the ICC 2025 Champions Trophy final against the Kiwis. The speedster bagged nine wickets in five games to emerge as the second-highest wicket-taker alongside Varun Chakaravarthy in the 50-over tournament. He took four wickets, including 3/18, in two ODIs during the last ODI series against the BlackCaps in 2023.
Overall, Shami has picked up 206 wickets in 108 ODIs at an economy rate of 5.58, including six five-wicket hauls. The Bengal pacer has currently taken 14 scalps in six games at an economy rate of 5.90 in the ongoing 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Yuzvendra Chahal
Before Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal was phased out of Team India plans in early 2023. The leg-spinner’s last ODI outing came in the third game against New Zealand, returning with figures of 2/43. It was his only game of the series.
Overall, Chahal has picked up 121 wickets in 72 ODIs at an economy rate of 5.26, comprising two five-wicket hauls. He last played for Haryana in the 2025 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, picking up four wickets in three games before falling ill with dengue and chikungunya ahead of the tournament final.
While Chahal faded away, Kuldeep Yadav has retained his place as the primary spinner in ODIs. Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja are the other spinners for the upcoming 50-over series against New Zealand.
Edited by James Kuanal
