Aakash Chopra reveals his India squad for New Zealand ODI series; Ruturaj Gaikwad retained

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has revealed his India squad for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, which is scheduled to start on Sunday, January 11, in Vadodara.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra has picked Shubman Gill as the skipper while Rohit Sharma continues to be the opening partner for Gill, with Virat Kohli taking up the No.3 spot. On the other hand, Ruturaj Gaikwad and KL Rahul take up No.4 and No.5 spots.

"Gill is fit and available, and he will be back as a captain. There will be no questions there. Rohit Sharma will be seen opening with him, which means Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a century, but he will have to wait. At No. 3, Player of the Series Virat Kohli, who is looking like a man on a mission," Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"The update on Shreyas Iyer is that he won't be available for this series. So don't be surprised if his name is not there, and if his name is not there, Ruturaj continues at No. 4. At No. 5, I have got KL Rahul as a wicketkeeper, as a batter, and maybe as a vice-captain in the side," he added.

Furthermore, he went ahead with one between Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja for the middle-order roles. Later, he has also slotted Washington Sundar and Tilak Varma in the squad. Moreover, he has selected Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna as his pace options.

"After that, there is a call that who should be taken between Axar and Jaddu. At times, you feel like Axar Patel will play the five T20Is, so Jaddu can be kept here and Axar can be kept there, but Jaddu's performance was slightly fifty-fifty in the last series. So I think Axar Patel is ahead of him in the race from a long-term perspective. One between the two, not both of them," Chopra noted.

"After that, there is a place for Washington Sundar in my team. Although Washi didn't play the last match and Tilak Varma played in his place, I will keep both Washington Sundar and Tilak Varma because continuity is important," he said.

"Kuldeep Yadav can come in that if there is no dew. You can drop a fast bowler and play Kuldeep Yadav. So at No. 12, I have got Kuldeep Yadav. After that, I will keep Prasidh Krishna in the team. I need an extra fast bowler. You don't play Nitish Kumar Reddy at all. So I haven't kept his name in the team. I will rather keep a proper fast bowler whom I can play," he concluded.

Aakash Chopra's Indian squad for IND vs NZ ODIs: 

Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul, Axar Patel/Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Tilak Varma, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

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