Rishabh Pant’s place in the Indian ODI squad will be among the major talking points as the selectors prepare to announce the team that will face New Zealand in a three-match series. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia said on Saturday that it will be announcing the squad in the afternoon.
“As you know, from the 11th of January, India is going to play New Zealand in a three-match ODI series and today we have a meeting with the selectors and in the afternoon we are going to announce the squad for the New Zealand series,” Saikia told ANI.
The temptation to give Ishan Kishan a run
This will be the last ODI series to be played before the T20 World Cup, which could affect the make up of the squad. Captain Shubman Gill will be playing for the first time since he was dropped from the Indian T20I squad that will play in the tournament. On the other hand, Pant’s place could be in jeopardy if the selectors decide to give Ishan Kishan a run in the series.
Kishan has been selected as a backup wicketkeeper to Sanju Samson for the T20 World Cup but his performances in domestic cricket across formats have been such that selectors may be keen to give him a few games at the international level in this series, with Samson likely to take the gloves in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand that follows the ODIs.
To be updated: