Gill to lead India in New Zealand Tests and first three ODIs, Shreyas Iyer takes charge for last two
BCCI names India's Test squad and two ODI squads for New Zealand. Gill leads the Tests and first three ODIs, Iyer the last two, while Jadeja misses the ODIs and Bumrah is rested.
India will have two ODI captains in one series in New Zealand. Shubman Gill will lead the side in the first three ODIs and then hand over to Shreyas Iyer for the last two, as the BCCI named a Test squad and two separate ODI squads for the tour on Friday.
The split makes sense once you look at the calendar. The third ODI is in Hamilton on 10 November, and the first Test starts at the Basin Reserve in Wellington nine days later. Gill, KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav are all in the Test squad as well as the first ODI group, and four of them (Gill, Rahul, Kamboj and Prasidh) drop out after the third ODI. The BCCI has not given an official reason, but giving the Test leadership and part of the attack time to prepare for Wellington is the obvious explanation.
The bigger talking points are elsewhere. Ravindra Jadeja is not in either ODI squad, Jasprit Bumrah has been rested from the 50-over games, and Rishabh Pant’s place in the Test squad comes with an asterisk.
Jadeja out of the ODIs, but still a Test regular
Jadeja’s omission from both ODI lists is the headline call. He remains in the Test squad, so this is a white-ball decision rather than a verdict on his career. The selectors have gone with Axar Patel as the spin-bowling all-rounder in the ODIs, with Kuldeep Yadav as the main wrist-spinner across both squads. No explanation was given for leaving Jadeja out.
Bumrah, too, will play only the Tests. With two World Test Championship matches at the end of a long tour, protecting India’s most important fast bowler for the red-ball leg is a sensible choice.
Rohit and Kohli stay for all five ODIs
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are in both ODI squads, so they will be available for the whole series while the captaincy changes around them. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Naman Dhir, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Siraj and Axar also cover all five matches.
For the last two games at Bay Oval, Ishan Kishan becomes Iyer’s vice-captain, and with Rahul gone, Kishan and Kumar Kushagra are the two wicketkeeping options. Tilak Varma, Auqib Nabi and Yash Thakur come into the squad for those two matches.
Fitness questions over Pant and Prasidh
Pant has been named in the Test squad “subject to fitness clearance”, and Prasidh Krishna carries the same tag in the first ODI squad. Dhruv Jurel is the second wicketkeeper in the Test squad, so India have cover if Pant is not cleared in time.
India’s Test squad
Shubman Gill (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper, subject to fitness clearance), Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj.
India’s ODI squads
First three ODIs: Shubman Gill (captain), Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna (subject to fitness clearance), Kuldeep Yadav.
Fourth and fifth ODIs: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Ishan Kishan (vice-captain, wicketkeeper), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav.
Who changes between the two ODI squads
| Leave after the 3rd ODI | Join for the 4th and 5th ODIs |
|---|---|
| Shubman Gill | Tilak Varma |
| KL Rahul | Kumar Kushagra |
| Anshul Kamboj | Auqib Nabi |
| Prasidh Krishna | Yash Thakur |
Nitish Kumar Reddy, Siraj and Kuldeep are named in both ODI squads as well as the Test squad, so they could play the entire white-ball leg before the Tests begin.
ODI and Test schedule
| Match | Date | Venue | Start (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st ODI | 4 Nov | Eden Park, Auckland | 7:30 AM |
| 2nd ODI | 7 Nov | Wellington | 7:30 AM |
| 3rd ODI | 10 Nov | Seddon Park, Hamilton | 7:30 AM |
| 4th ODI | 13 Nov | Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui | 7:30 AM |
| 5th ODI | 15 Nov | Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui | 7:30 AM |
| 1st Test | 19–23 Nov | Basin Reserve, Wellington | 3:30 AM |
| 2nd Test | 27 Nov–1 Dec | Hagley Oval, Christchurch | 3:30 AM |
Before the ODIs, India play five T20Is in New Zealand from 22 October to 1 November. That makes it a 12-match tour across all three formats.
What this tells us
The selectors are clearly treating the Tests as the priority. India sit fifth in the World Test Championship standings, and two away wins in New Zealand would do a lot for their chances of reaching the final. Giving Gill and the Test bowlers a clear week before Wellington, and keeping Bumrah fresh, all points the same way.
For Iyer, two matches in charge of the ODI side, with Rohit and Kohli in the dressing room, are another sign of how much the management trusts him. He is already leading India’s T20I side against West Indies. How he handles the final two ODIs at Bay Oval will be worth watching.
