India and New Zealand are facing each other in the white-ball fixtures with the two sides set to play three ODIs and five T20Is ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 in India. While India have rested Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, the home side was hit with an injury blow after Rishabh Pant was ruled out of the ODIs.
The 28-year-old experienced discomfort after being hit on the rib cage by a throw from a throwdown expert on January 10 at the BCA B ground in Vadodara, and thus had to retire hurt while he was already in pain.
New Zealand, on the other side, are without their full-time captain, Mitchell Santner. The spin-bowling all-rounder was rested for the series due to an injury. Michael Bracewell is leading the team in his absence. Tom Latham is missing the series due to personal reasons.
Why Is Kane Williamson Not In The Squad?
Kane Williamson is missing the ODI series against India due to his SA20 commitments. The right-handed batter has been denying NZ’s contracts since 2024. Williamson is playing for the Durban Super Giants.
“Yeah, it’s almost series-by-series, and like I say after this, there’s a pretty large block away from the group as well, and there’ll be more conversations had. Yeah, so just kind of cross those bridges as we come, and like I mentioned earlier, just with the balance in mind for the young family,” he said during a press conference in November 2025.
India Opt To Bowl In First ODI
After winning, the toss, India captain Shubman Gill opted to bowl first in the first match. Openers Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls provided a steady start to the side.
Playing XIs
India: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
New Zealand: Michael Bracewell (Captain), Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay, Zakary Foulkes, Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Adithya Ashok
Also Read: India vs New Zealand, 1st ODI LIVE SCORE
