Gill to captain India in first three ODIs against NZ, Iyer to lead in last two games

New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS) Keeping in mind the short turnaround time between the Test and ODI series against New Zealand, ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer will take charge for the final two games after Shubman Gill leads the visitors in the first three matches.

While Gill leads the 16-member setup for the opening three fixtures with Iyer as his deputy, a reshuffle in the last two games will see Iyer elevated to the captaincy role. Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, who features in both squads, has been named vice-captain for the fourth and fifth ODIs.

Senior batting stars and former captains Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be available for the entire duration of the ODI series, alongside all-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, and Naman Dhir.

Regular wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, along with pacers Anshul Kamboj and Prasidh Krishna, whose inclusion for the opening phase remains subject to fitness and recovery from his left hamstring injury, will feature only in the first three ODI matches before they take off to prepare for the Test series.

For the final two ODI games, the selectors have drafted left-handed batter Tilak Varma and pacer Auqib Nabi, while Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra and fast bowler Yash Thakur, who has played T20Is so far, have been handed their maiden ODI call-ups.

Other members in the ODI squads are left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, seamer Mohammed Siraj, and left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, alongside tall pacer Gurnoor Brar and right-handed batter Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Contrary to various speculation, there’s no recall for senior pacer Mohammed Shami or Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was added to the squad for the fifth T20I against the West Indies in Bengaluru and will be in the T20I series in New Zealand starting on October 22.

The five-match ODI series between India and New Zealand will kick off on November 4, at Eden Park in Auckland, and is followed by the second ODI at Basin Reserve in Wellington on November 7.

The action then shifts to Seddon Park, Hamilton, for the third match on November 10, before the series concludes with back-to-back games at Mount Maunganui on November 13 and 15, respectively. All five matches of the series are scheduled to start at 7:30 AM IST.

India’s ODI squad for the first three games: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan (wk), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav

India’s ODI squad for fourth and fifth games: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wk & vc), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, and Kuldeep Yadav

–IANS

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