.jpg?type=hq)
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma - (Source: AFP)
The caravan has shifted from T20Is to ODIs. Shubman Gill has taken charge of the Men in Blue, and the visitors are all set to challenge New Zealand with Eden Park, Auckland hosting the 1st of five matches on Wednesday.
Fans are struggling to contain their excitement because Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be in action. Further, India have named a couple of squads for New Zealand ODIs to get enough time for red-ball preparations.
Nonetheless, fans are confused about India’s playing XI, and this article will shed light on India’s predicted playing XI vs New Zealand – 1st ODI, 2026.
Openers and Top order: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli
Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma will open the innings for India. Recently, Gill remarked that Men in Blue have their top order fixed and will only experiment in the middle-order. Therefore, Rohit and Gill will open the innings in New Zealand.
Virat Kohli will bat at No.3. The right-handed batter has the chance to becoming the 1st ever player to score 13000 ODI runs. He currently has 12988 runs in 250 innings, averaging 61.55 with the bat.
Middle order and all-rounders: Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy
Shreyas Iyer will bat at No.4. The right-handed batter is yet to shine in ODIs in 2026 because he has only amassed 291 runs in 9 innings. Iyer averages just 27.57 with the bat in this year and is awaiting a big series.
As mentioned above, Shubman Gill just confirmed that India will explore a floater role for No.5 and No.6. Therefore, KL Rahul will bat at No.5, but if the situation demands more aggression, then the DC star could be demoted to No. 6.
Naman Dhair and Nitish Kumar Reddy will be the all-rounders who will take the field against New Zealand in 1st ODI. Naman Dhir impressed in his maiden ODI series against West Indies, where he played a 30-run innings in the solitary match he got to bat. Further, Dhir can also bowl as seen against West Indies, where he took 5 wickets in 4 innings.
Nitish Kumar Reddy will continue to don the frontline all-rounder role as long as Hardik Pandya remains out of the team with fitness issues. Further, the SRH star all-rounder is only part of the team for 1st ODI.
Bowlers: Mohammed Siraj, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
India have dealt a heavy blow in the bowling department because Prasidh Krishna failed to recover in time for New Zealand ODIs. Therefore, Mohammed Siraj will get a go ahead.
Arshdeep Singh will be the frontline seamer and he will be assisted by Gurnoor Brar. In the spin department, Kuldeep Yadav will lead the attack as the sole spinner.
India Predicted Playing XI vs New Zealand – 1st ODI, 2026
Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
