One Squad, Two Missions: India Split in New Zealand as Shreyas Iyer Takes the ODI Reins
Rain in Hamilton did India an odd favour. With the third one-day international at Seddon Park abandoned on November 10 without a ball bowled, the tourists kept the 2-0 lead that already put the five-match series beyond New Zealand’s reach — and turned the last two games into something closer to an audition.
The touring party is now splitting in two. One group heads to Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui for the fourth and fifth ODIs on November 13 and 15. The other, including Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and seamer Anshul Kamboj, moves to Wellington to prepare for the two-Test series that starts at the Basin Reserve on November 19.
A new captain for the dead rubbers
With Gill gone, Shreyas Iyer will lead the ODI side. He is already India’s full-time T20I captain but has never captained the team in a 50-over match, so these two games give selectors a low-risk look at him in the role. Ishan Kishan is his deputy, and head coach Gautam Gambhir stays with this group.
There are fresh faces, too. Tilak Varma, whose last ODI came against South Africa in December 2025, returns, while Yash Thakur and Kumar Kushagra have received their first ODI call-ups. Former India players Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik have both argued for Kishan to open alongside Rohit Sharma, with Ruturaj Gaikwad filling Rahul’s place in the middle order and adding a left-right mix.
How India got here
Neither win was routine. In Auckland on November 4, New Zealand were bowled out for 185, and India chased a rain-revised 143 in 22.4 overs, Virat Kohli hitting 74 from 51 balls. In Wellington three days later, Gurnoor Brar took 4 for 30 as the hosts fell for 134; India were wobbling at 113 for 7 when rain arrived, but four runs ahead of the DLS par score — enough to win.
The Test question
The more important cricket starts in Wellington. India’s 16-man Test squad carries five fast bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep and Kamboj. The 25-year-old Kamboj, Player of the Match in Auckland, only made his ODI debut on October 3, yet former coach Ravi Shastri already sees him as a potential “workhorse” for New Zealand conditions — a bowler who can hold an end and move the ball both ways. Sending him ahead with Gill and Rahul suggests the selectors may be thinking the same.