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India's predicted XI for 1st ODI against New Zealand: Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill return; toss-up between Sundar, Reddy
Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill are set to feature in the playing XI for the first ODI against New Zealand on Sunday.
India's ODI captain, Shubman Gill, and vice-captain, Shreyas Iyer, are back to full fitness. The experienced duo is expected to feature in the playing XI for the first match of the three-game series against New Zealand at the Baroda Cricket Association Stadium in Vadodara on Sunday. The two had previously missed the three matches against South Africa last year due to injuries, but they are now back and are expected to headline the lineup.
India doesn't have many concerns about the ODI lineup, and the playing XI is almost a done deal, with only one major headache in front of the team management, spearheaded by head coach Gautam Gambhir. Hardik Pandya is unavailable, which leaves room for one of Washington Sundar or Nitish Kumar Reddy to feature in the lineup.
Normalcy would dictate that Reddy come in for Hardik as a like-for-like replacement, but management has consistently shown that they rank Sundar very highly, and hence it seems certain that the left-handed batter is set to start ahead of Reddy in the series against New Zealand.
Also Read: Rishabh Pant ruled out of ODIs against New Zealand after fresh injury setback
Reddy didn't get a single game in the three ODIs against South Africa, and hence, his sitting on the sidelines is expected to continue against the Black Caps as well, unless Gambhir and Gill pull off a last-minute move.
KL Rahul will start as the frontline wicketkeeper; however, the focus will be on whether he bats at No.5 or once again comes down at No. 6, and one between Jadeja or Sundar is promoted up the batting order.
Siraj and Arshdeep to play
Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh are all but certain to play as the frontline spinners, while Kuldeep Yadav and Jadeja will share the spinners' role.
It is worth mentioning that Jasprit Bumrah is also unavailable for the series as his workload is being managed ahead of the T20 World Cup.
The three ODIs are Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's last ODI assignment for India before the tour of the UK later this year. After the series against New Zealand, two stalwarts of the game will be seen in action in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for RCB and Mumbai Indians respectively.
India's predicted XI for the first ODI against New Zealand: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.
