KL Rahul Dropped For Rishabh Pant As Ex-India Star Picks His Playing XI For 1st ODI vs New Zealand

India are set to play a three-match ODI series against New Zealand, starting January 11 in Vadodara. Veteran players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be back in action. The series will also see Shreyas Iyer playing for the country as the star batter is set to make an international comeback from an injury he suffered in Australia in October last year. On the eve of the match, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan picked his playing XI for the first ODI against New Zealand.

While naming the squad, Pathan surprisingly dropped KL Rahul in favour of Rishabh Pant for the wicketkeeper-batter slot. He added that spinner Kuldeep Yadav could replace one between Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana in the XI, with Mohammed Siraj performing the role of the lead pacer.

Meanwhile, Pathan also kept young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy in his team, despite the player's below-par returns in his small white-ball career. He added that the selectors, as well as the team management, need to be patient with Reddy as there are very few fast-bowling all-rounders who can click speeds of around 130 kmph.

"Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana/Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh/Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj," said Irfan Pathan while making his team on his YouTube channel.

Explaining the reason behind picking Pant over Rahul, Pathan said, "If you want to experiment, this is your time. You would not get that opportunity later. KL Rahul has already cemented his spot at number four or five, and he has also shown flexibility in his batting approach. Rahul should be rested with Rishabh Pant getting the opportunity. He is a match-winner in Test cricket. You have brought him from the longest format to ODIs, so this is your time."

India's ODI squad vs New Zealand: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja.

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team India vs New Zealand 2026 KL Rahul Rishabh Pant