Former India opener Aakash Chopra has selected his Indian playing XI for the opening ODI series against New Zealand, which will be contested in Vadodara on Sunday, January 11 (via Crex. com Instagram handle). The two nations will play three One-Day Internationals, followed by five Twenty20 Internationals, before the 2026 T20 World Cup in February.
Chopra went with the tested trio of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli. However, with Shreyas Iyer fit to play after recovering from an injury, the ex-opener picked the right-hander at number four and wicketkeeper batsman KL Rahul at five.
Chopra opted for the all-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar at Nos. 6, 7, and 8. And lastly, the specialist bowlers – Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, and Mohammed Siraj – made up the eleven.
Chopra omitted Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant, and Yashasvi Jaiswal from his playing XI of 15 too.
Aakash Chopra’s Team India playing XI for 1st ODI against New Zealand
Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj
Team India is coming off an excellent 2025 ODI season
Last year, the Men in Blue had an extraordinary ODI campaign, beginning with their successful Champions Trophy run. Undefeated at home after beating England 3-0, India carried their form into the Champions Trophy in Dubai, where they went unbeaten.
They had a tougher time later in the year, with a 1-2 series defeat in Australia, but finished 2025 on a high with a 2-1 home series win against South Africa. India triumphed in 11 out of their 14 ODIs in 2025, even with a captaincy switch from Rohit Sharma to Shubman Gill during the season.
KL Rahul captained the team in their final ODI series of the year against South Africa, as Gill was sidelined due to injury.
With the 50-over World Cup set for next year, Team India will look to continue their dominant streak – starting with the upcoming series against New Zealand. The two sides last met in an ODI during the 2025 Champions Trophy final, which India won by four wickets.
Their most recent bilateral ODI series came at the start of the 2023 season, where India secured a 3-0 victory.
