The Board of Control for Cricket in India made a late squad change on October 31, 2026, adding Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi to the Indian side for the first three ODIs of the upcoming series against New Zealand. The move came after Prasidh Krishna sustained a hamstring injury during the second ODI against West Indies in Guwahati, ruling him out of the opening matches.
Nabi had already been named in the squad for the fourth and fifth ODIs of the same series. The BCCI's Men's Selection Committee confirmed this in a statement.
"The Men's Selection Committee has added Auqib Nabi to the squad for the first three ODIs against New Zealand. The right-arm pacer, who was initially in the squad for the fourth and fifth ODIs of the series, will be a part of the Indian squad from the start of the ODI series," the statement read.
Shubman Gill leads the side for the first three ODIs, with Shreyas Iyer serving as vice-captain. Iyer then takes over as captain for the fourth and fifth matches, with Ishan Kishan named his deputy for those games. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli feature across all five ODIs.
What form did Auqib Nabi show ahead of this call-up?
Nabi made his ODI debut on September 30, 2026, against West Indies. In that match, played in Guwahati, he bowled 8.5 overs and conceded 84 runs, a difficult introduction to international cricket at the highest level.
Despite that debut outing, the right-arm pacer showed encouraging signs in the four-day India A fixture against New Zealand A at Lincoln, where he claimed six wickets across two innings. That performance kept him in the selectors' thinking and contributed to his retention in the squad for the later ODIs before this latest promotion.
With Nabi now part of the group from the first ODI, India carry additional pace cover throughout the series. Nitish Kumar Reddy is included only for the first ODI among the first three matches, while the rest of the pace attack features Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Anshul Kamboj and Gurnoor Brar alongside Nabi.
For the fourth and fifth ODIs, Tilak Varma and Kumar Kushagra come into the squad, while Yash Thakur is also included in place of some of the earlier members. KL Rahul keeps wicket in the first three games, with Kishan and Kushagra sharing those duties across the full series. Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel provide the spin options, and Naman Dhir and Ruturaj Gaikwad add batting depth throughout.
Gill's form heading into the series is notable. The captain scored a double hundred against West Indies, part of a successful chase in which India overhauled a target in excess of 400 runs in that ODI.
India full squad for the New Zealand ODI series
First three ODIs:
Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy (only for first ODI), Auqib Nabi.
Fourth and fifth ODIs:
Shreyas Iyer (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper, vice-captain), Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper), Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav.
