'Should Be No Preferential Treatment': Former India Star Voices Concern Over Team Selection After IND vs NZ 2026 ODI Squad Announcement

India is set to face New Zealand in a three-match ODI series at home starting from January 11, 2026. On January 3, 2026, the BCCI Committee announced the 15-member squad for the upcoming ODI. While Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer were named captain and vice captain, respectively, players like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Mohammed Shami were surprisingly left out of the squad.

Following the announcement, former India team player Ravichandran Ashwin shared his honest opinion about the team selection on his YouTube channel, Ash Ki Baat.

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Ashwin On India's ODI Squad Selection

Ruturaj Gaikwad, who featured in India's last three ODIs against South Africa, was omitted from the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand. Notably, the player had even registered his maiden ODI century for India in the 2nd ODI against the Proteas.

Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant, who was in the squad for the South Africa ODI but did not play a single game, was called up for the upcoming ODI against New Zealand. In his video, Ashwin noted that providing clarity to players in Indian cricket is somewhat challenging due to the intense competition, but he also acknowledged that some players were given more opportunities than others.

Ashwin shared, "Giving clarity is very difficult in Indian cricket. People will not agree with this. Take an example, if I tell Sanju that he is in the T20 side and we are not considering him for ODI and Tests. Let's say he then goes in a Vijay Hazare game and makes a double hundred. I don't like differential treatment for different players. Every player's self-respect is no less than that of any other player."

He further added, "There should be no preferential treatment. But unfortunately, we live in a world where some players get extra chances. I would love to see Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad all get that treatment too because these are fabulous players."

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India's ODI Squad Against New Zealand

Alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad, Axar Patel was also left out of the squad list while Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy were included. Meanwhile, pacer Mohammed Siraj made his return to the squad while Mohammed Shami was once again ignored.

India's squad against New Zealand: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.