India vs New Zealand 2026 ODI Series Best Predicted Squad List

With Hardik Pandya to come back, discover the best predicted squad and players list for India vs New Zealand 2026 ODI series.

It’s almost time for the first International series for Team India in 2026, and what better than an India vs New Zealand series with 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is lined up. The RoKO-dominant Indian team will be up against New Zealand for a 3-match ODI series starting January 11, with the second and third ODIs being played on January 14 and Jan 18, respectively. It will be a great practice series for India, which only recently played South Africa and Australia. 

The last two ODI series for Team India have been a mixed affair. While India lost 1-2 to Australia away from home, they won 2-1 vs South Africa at home. After playing two strong teams, Team India will once again be playing a strong team, New Zealand. Historically, India have had an upper hand over New Zealand in ODIs by winning 62 ODIs, and losing 50 of them. Team India had last played New Zealand in the Champions Trophy 2025 final, which they won by 4 wickets. 

While the series will once see Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in focus, given their only format, it will also see a return of a few key players like Hardik Pandya. With a few players making the team, we might see a few backup players missing out, too. So, what’s the likely squad and players list for Team India for the 2026 ODI series vs New Zealand? Well, let’s find out in this article. This will be the last series before Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be seen in the Indian Premier League. 

India vs New Zealand 2026 ODI Squad Decoded

Let’s start with the players who are likely to make a comeback for this ODI series. There are four names who should be playing this ODI series, and making a comeback to the side, and those are Captain Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Mohammed Siraj. While Gill and Hardik missed the previous series due to injury, Axar and Siraj were rested, as seen from the notification from the selectors. 

But with these four making a comeback, unfortunately, four names will be missing from the squad. Among the ones that are likely to be omitted are Dhruv Jurel in the batting department for Shubman Gill, Nitish Reddy in the All-rounder department for Hardik Pandya. Ravindra Jadeja in the AR department for Axar Patel, and Prasidh Krishna in the bowling department for Mohammed Siraj, who has been poor in the ODI series. 

There is also a good possibility of Jasprit Bumrah playing this ODI series. But given there are 5 T20Is lined up just after this series, India may refrain from adding him to the ODI side. Similarly, India may also not risk adding Hardik Pandya to the ODI series. Instead, we may see Nitish Reddy or Ravindra Jadeja continuing for the New Zealand ODI series together. This is a very good possibility, if not for Hardik Pandya.

India vs New Zealand 2026 Best Predicted ODI Squad and Players List

Batters

• Rohit Sharma
• Ruturaj Gaikwad
• Shubman Gill (c)
• Tilak Varma
• Virat Kohli
• Yashasvi Jaiswal

WKs

• KL Rahul
• Rishabh Pant

All-rounders

• Axar Patel
• Hardik Pandya
• Washington Sundar

Bowlers

• Arshdeep Singh
• Harshit Rana
• Kuldeep Yadav
• Mohammed Siraj

The team will also miss the services of Shreyas Iyer, who may take some more time to recover. So, in his place, Ruturaj Gaikwad shall once again be the preferred middle-order player for the team. It will also be interesting to see if Yashasvi Jaiswal’s spot is compromised. India are technically having just 4 bowlers in the team, so one of Tilak Varma or Yashasvi Jaiswal should make way for an extra bowler. But since this is just an ODI series, we should see the same lineup as above. 

In terms of performance, India will be looking for nothing less than a 3-0 victory. Against a full-fledged South African side, India won 2-1 with almost a B side. But with four key players missing, Team India now look much stronger. So, a 3-0 victory should be ideal. India will be hoping for a good performance from their star players, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, and also from the returning Hardik Pandya, who balances the side perfectly. 

India vs New Zealand 2026 ODI Series Fixtures

So, that’s about the best squad and players list for the Indian Cricket Team vs New Zealand ODI series. Thanks for reading. What’s your ideal squad for India vs New Zealand 2026 ODI series? Please share your thoughts on business@cricalytics.com or in the comment section below. 

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