(Image source from: Instagram.com/virat.kohli)
Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa conveyed an important message to Virat Kohli about his decision to retire from Test cricket. Uthappa suggested in a widely-shared social media post that Kohli should reconsider his retirement from Test matches. Kohli stepped away from the longest form of the game just before the series against England in 2025. Currently, he only plays One Day Internationals (ODIs) and will be joining the upcoming matches against New Zealand. Uthappa shared a photo of Kohli training in the nets for the first ODI, stating – "Those eyes tell a story. It's definitely time for him to come back from his Test retirement. I would really enjoy seeing him play Test cricket again. " The strong performance of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is anticipated to lead India's success in ODIs as the fully equipped hosts face a revamped New Zealand in the first match of a three-game series on Sunday.
While attention is on the T20 World Cup, which is just weeks away, both Kohli and Rohit will be in the spotlight during the three ODIs over the next week.
The two stars have had plenty of match practice, as they both played several games in the league stage of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring a lot of runs to show they are still competitive. However, it remains uncertain how India’s captain Shubman Gill will react after being dropped from the T20 World Cup team, given his performance issues and the injuries that caused him to miss most of the series against South Africa last year. Gill’s return could mean that Yashasvi Jaiswal will be pushed down the order after he scored his first ODI century in the last match against South Africa.
Shreyas Iyer's return is expected to conclude a series of unsuccessful experiments with the batting lineup, as the 31-year-old is likely to reclaim his spot at number 4. KL Rahul will continue to play as a lower-order batsman and wicketkeeper, which will keep Rishabh Pant out of the playing XI, rendering him the second choice in the 50-over format.
Although Iyer, Pant, and Mohammed Siraj did not participate in the lead-up to this ODI series in Kotambi until Saturday, Ravindra Jadeja practiced fully on Friday, indicating his fitness. Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya will not play in the ODI series as a precaution to keep them ready for T20 games, leaving the fast bowling responsibilities to Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Prasidh Krishna. The spin bowling tasks will be handled by Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, and Jadeja in a format where evening dew and flat pitches across the country mean that controlling runs is more important than aggressively seeking wickets. This will mark the first time that the new Baroda Cricket Association Stadium in Kotambi will host a men’s international match.
The location has previously been the site of a women’s ODI series featuring India and the West Indies. For New Zealand, the defeat to India in the Champions Trophy final last year is not very important, as this series allows them to evaluate newer and less experienced players.
Regardless of whether their favorite players are on the field, the Black Caps will adhere to their team philosophy that brought them success during their last tour in India from 2024-25 when they defeated India 3-0 in the Test series. On that trip, many players from New Zealand expressed their desire to "make the first move" against India, and the guiding principle for this journey is "you are where your feet are." This is intended to help keep the players focused on their duties instead of the obstacles they face, especially since New Zealand is missing several key players and competing against India on their home ground. Mitchell Santner will not participate in the ODIs due to a groin issue, and Tom Latham has returned home for the arrival of his first child. Former captain Kane Williamson is in South Africa, attending to his T20 commitments in the SA20 league. Rachin Ravindra and fast bowler Jacob Duffy are taking a break, while Matt Henry is concentrating on rejoining the team for the T20I series after recovering from a calf injury, with the World Cup in mind.
Michael Bracewell will captain the team in Santner's absence, who will come back for the T20Is. There will also be interest in how the tall all-rounder Kyle Jamieson and the 23-year-old leg-spinner Adithya Ashok perform. Jayden Lennox has been added to the Kiwi squad to directly replace Santner. Although the squad has many new and less experienced players, New Zealand still possesses a strong batting lineup that includes Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, and Glenn Phillips.
