However, the Indian side will once again miss key players like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya in this ODI series. The BCCI selectors have chosen not to pick Bumrah for the ODI series with the short turnaround time to the two-match Test series beginning later this month. While Pandya is yet to recover from injury and resume bowling at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
With Shreyas Iyer returning to the ODI side after missing the series against West Indies due to his T20I commitments leading Indian side at Asian Games 2026, Ruturaj Gaikwad will have to make way at the No. 4 position.
But Gill promised to be flexible with the No. 5 and 6 position in the batting order as top 4 batters – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer apart from skipper – locked in. India could swap either KL Rahul or Axar Patel in these positions apart from Nitish Kumar Reddy. “For us, positions five and six are a bit flexible. If you look at our top four, they are pretty much settled, and all of us are right-handed batters. Sometimes, if we feel that we need a left-hander at number five, we use Axar Patel,” Gill said in the pre-match press conference at Eden Park on Tuesday.
“If we feel the platform has been set and KL Rahul needs to go in and accelerate, we make that decision according to the situation,” Gill added.
It means Kuldeep Yadav is set to miss out from the playing 11 once again keeping in mind the short straight boundaries and the weird dimensions of the Eden Park ground. Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar and Mohammed Siraj are expected to be the three main pace bowlers in the line-up.
Mitchell Santner’s New Zealand suffered a big blow with Devon Conway ruled out of the 1st ODI after his collision with Matt Henry. Conway suffered a concussion and even Henry could be doubtful for the game.
Either Tim Seifert or Henry Nicholls could open the batting with Will Young. Blair Tickner could replace Henry if the pacer fails to pass fitness Test.
India vs New Zealand 1st ODI match Predicted 11
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
New Zealand: Will Young, Tim Seifert/ Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tom Latham (wk), Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry/ Blair Tickner, Jacob Duffy