Shubman Gill To Lead India In First Three ODIs Against New Zealand; Shreyas Iyer Takes Over For Last Two

India have divided captaincy responsibilities for their five-match ODI series against New Zealand, with Shubman Gill leading the first three matches and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer taking charge of the final two.

The selection committee has named separate 16-member squads for the two phases, keeping the short turnaround between the Test and ODI assignments in mind.

Ishan Kishan will serve as Iyer’s deputy in the fourth and fifth matches.

Former captains Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will feature throughout the series. All-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel and Naman Dhir will also be part of both squads.

KL Rahul, Anshul Kamboj and Prasidh Krishna will feature only in the opening three matches. They will then prepare for the subsequent Test series.

Krishna’s participation remains subject to fitness and recovery from a left hamstring injury.

Tilak Varma and pacer Auqib Nabi join the squad for the final two games. Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra and fast bowler Yash Thakur have earned their maiden ODI call-ups.

The squads also include Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Gurnoor Brar and Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Senior pacers Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have not been selected. Bhuvneshwar will feature in India’s T20I series in New Zealand, starting on October 22.

The series opens at Eden Park in Auckland on November 4, followed by matches in Wellington on November 7 and Hamilton on November 10.

Mount Maunganui will host the final two ODIs on November 13 and 15. All matches will begin at 07:30 AM IST.

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