India Predicted XI For 1st ODI vs New Zealand: Big Call Expected After Rishabh Pant Setback

India Predicted XI For 1st ODI vs New Zealand: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be back in again as India take on New Zealand in the first ODI encounter in Vadodara on Sunday. This will be India's first match of 2026 and skipper Shubman Gill will be hoping to start the new year with a victory. Gill and his deputy Shreyas Iyer will also be making a comeback after recovering from injuries. Just ahead of the ODI encounter, India suffered a big setback as wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant experienced discomfort after being hit above the waist while facing a delivery from a throwdown specialist. Sources claimed that he suffered an injury to his ribcage and was ruled out of the series but nothing official has been announced by the BCCI as of now.

Gill and Rohit Sharma are expected to open the innings for India with Virat Kohli coming at No. 3. A lot will be expected from the Top 3 as both Rohit and Virat enjoyed a good run of form against South Africa with the latter continuing to impress experts and fans with his knocks in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

This will also be a great chance for Gill to regain his form after a few lacklustre performances.

With Pant missing the game, KL Rahul is guaranteed to be the wicket-keeper and along with Shreyas Iyer, he is expected to form a formidable Top 5 for the Indian cricket team.

In the middle order, Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy are expected to be the all-rounder options with Washington Sundar missing out. With Hardik Pandya not in the squad, Reddy will be providing assistance to the fast bowlers.

Coming to the bowling department, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh are expected to be the pacers with Kuldeep Yadav playing as the only specialist spinner.

India predicted XI for 1st ODI vs New Zealand: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team Virat Kohli Shubman Gill Rishabh Pant India vs New Zealand 2026 Cricket