India’s biggest concern heading into the series is finding the right balance in the middle order and finalising their bowling options. Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya are unavailable, leaving the team with decisions to make in both departments.
Shubman Gill, who leads India’s ODI and Test sides, has indicated that the team cannot afford to keep experimenting for too long. After the West Indies ODI series, he stressed that there was not “much time to experiment” as India look to build a settled combination for the World Cup.
Ahead of the New Zealand series, Gill revealed that the “top four is set”, but the remaining middle-order positions are still open. Axar Patel could be promoted or used as a floater, while KL Rahul is also being considered for the No. 5 position.
The scheduling of the series has also raised questions, with Gill indicating that he would have preferred the ODIs to take place before the recently concluded T20I matches. India have also rested some of their first-choice Test players for the fourth and fifth ODIs to give them time to prepare for the longer format.
New Zealand have their own selection concerns. Rachin Ravindra and Mark Chapman have been ruled out due to injuries, while Devon Conway will miss the opening match after suffering a concussion in a training-ground collision with Matt Henry. Like India, the hosts have named separate squads for the first three and final two matches because of the upcoming Test series.
For Rohit Sharma, the series presents another opportunity to build momentum ahead of the World Cup. The experienced opener is yet to score an ODI century in New Zealand and will be keen to improve that record.
The opening match will be played on a different surface from the one used for the recent fourth T20I, where New Zealand scored 259. This could make the contest more balanced between bat and ball.
India will be led by Shubman Gill, with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan completing the squad.
New Zealand, captained by Mitchell Santner, will feature Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Nathan Smith, Matthew Fisher, Blair Tickner, Tim Seifert and Kyle Jamieson.
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