Overview
- The BCCI named a 15-player ODI squad for the home series starting January 11 with Shubman Gill as captain and Shreyas Iyer as vice-captain pending clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence.
- Rishabh Pant was retained as KL Rahul’s backup wicketkeeper, a move that revived debate about defined roles after he did not play in the South Africa ODIs.
- Mohammed Shami was left out despite recent domestic wickets, with multiple reports saying his name was not discussed due to concerns over meeting international intensity, drawing sharp criticism from Bengal coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla.
- Ruturaj Gaikwad missed selection despite a recent ODI century, triggering public reactions from former players including Irfan Pathan and Ravichandran Ashwin, who argued the toss-up should have favored a specialist batter.
- Mohammed Siraj returned to headline a pace group with Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh, while Hardik Pandya was not included after failing COE clearance to bowl a full 10-over quota and Nitish Kumar Reddy filled the fast-bowling all-rounder slot.