India have named Shubman Gill as ODI captain for the upcoming three-match home series against New Zealand, starting January 11, marking his return to leadership after injury.

Gill will lead the side, while Shreyas Iyer has been appointed vice-captain, subject to fitness clearance. Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj also returns to the 15-man squad.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya has been rested as the team management monitors his workload ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Injury updates behind key returns

Gill missed the South Africa ODI series due to a neck spasm sustained during the Kolkata Test but returned to action in the T20Is against South Africa. Iyer, meanwhile, is making a comeback from a spleen injury suffered during India’s tour of Australia and has not played competitive cricket since October 2025.

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Siraj last played ODIs on the Australia tour and has since remained active in Tests while representing Hyderabad in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Squad changes from South Africa

Gill, Iyer and Siraj replace Tilak Varma, Dhruv Jurel and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the squad. These are the only changes to the team that beat South Africa 2-1.

Tilak Varma and Dhruv Jurel did not feature in that series, while Gaikwad scored 105 from No. 4 in Raipur.

Batting, bowling, all-round balance

Apart from Gill and Iyer, specialist batters include Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

KL Rahul, who captained during the South Africa ODIs, and Rishabh Pant are the wicketkeeper-batters. The all-rounders are Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy.

The bowling attack features wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, alongside seamers Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh and Siraj.

The BCCI said Hardik Pandya is being rested with the T20 World Cup starting February 7 in mind. The board added that Hardik has not yet been cleared by the Centre of Excellence to bowl 10 overs in a match.

Players to feature in domestic matches

Both Gill and Iyer are expected to play one Vijay Hazare Trophy match on January 6 before the national squad assembles. Gill missed Punjab’s recent game due to food poisoning but is expected to play against Goa.

Iyer took part in a practice match on January 2 at Bengaluru’s Centre of Excellence, batting pain-free and completing all drills. He is expected to turn out for Mumbai against Himachal Pradesh in Jaipur on January 6.

Full schedule, squad

The ODI series begins on January 11 in Vadodara, moves to Rajkot on January 14, and concludes in Indore on January 18. India’s T20I squad for the following series and the T20 World Cup was announced in December 2025.

India ODI squad:
Shubman Gill (capt), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer (vice-capt)*, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal
(*subject to fitness clearance)