No Place For Kuldeep Yadav In New Zealand ODIs? Ravichandran Ashwin's Big Playing XI Prediction

After clinching the five-match T20I series, India will once again take on New Zealand in the ODIs and look to maintain their dominance. Under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, India registered a 3-2 victory over the Kiwis in the T20I leg, which will now be followed by a five-match ODI series starting on Wednesday in Auckland. The series not only marks the on-field return of veteran duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but also provides both teams with an opportunity to test their combinations ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Speaking about India's likely Playing XI for the first ODI, former all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin picked a well-balanced side, opting for three all-rounders, with Axar Patel serving as the frontline spin-bowling all-rounder.

"Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, and then the three seamers. Maybe Arshdeep, Nabi, and Anshul. If Naman, Nitish, and Axar play, Kuldeep will be out. But I think he will have to sit out anyway because they will go with these three. I think any two from Anshul, Nabi, and Gurnoor can play," Ashwin said on 'Ash ki Baat'.

The recently concluded T20I series also drew some criticism over India's team selections. Kuldeep Yadav did not feature in a single match across the five games, while the Indian bowlers leaked runs at an alarming rate.

Former India left-arm spinner Venkatapathy Raju said he was surprised that wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav did not get a game in the recently concluded five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which the visitors won 3-2, and urged the team management to give him more game time ahead of next year's ODI World Cup.

"It's surprising. We are all former cricketers who sit here. We do commentary and then we have our own interactions. When you take Kuldeep, why are you not making him play?

"We all know wrist spinners are such an asset in white-ball cricket, right? And then, when you have him in all three formats and sitting on the bench, it's quite surprising. Or you allow him to go play domestic cricket. Because any spinner - might be wrist, left-arm, whatever - the more matches they play, the more control they have," said Venkatapathy Raju during a select virtual interaction facilitated by Sony Sports Network.

The first ODI between India and New Zealand will be played on Wednesday at the Eden Park in Auckland.

(With IANS Inputs)

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