Overview
- The three-match ODI series starts January 11 at the BCA Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara, with games to follow on January 14 in Rajkot and January 18 in Indore.
- Stand-in captain Michael Bracewell confirmed 24-year-old Kristian Clarke will debut and said he will lean on Kyle Jamieson to lead New Zealand's pace attack.
- New Zealand arrive with an experimental squad featuring leg-spinner Adithya Ashok and several absences among regulars, using the tour to build depth in Indian conditions.
- India have rested Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya for workload management, leaving pace duties to Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna, with Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja handling spin.
- India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was hit above the waist during nets, received on-field treatment and walked off, while milestones loom for Virat Kohli (25 runs to 28,000 international; 42 to pass Sangakkara) and Rohit Sharma (63–64 ODI runs to pass Kallis), with Shreyas Iyer nearing 3,000 ODI runs.