Overview
- The BCCI confirmed a 15-man group with Shubman Gill as captain and Shreyas Iyer as vice-captain, pending Iyer’s fitness clearance before the January 11 opener in Vadodara.
- Rishabh Pant was retained as KL Rahul’s backup wicketkeeper as Ishan Kishan remained out, a decision Ravichandran Ashwin and others questioned for Pant’s fit in the middle order.
- Mohammed Siraj returned to the ODI setup while Jasprit Bumrah was rested for workload management, but Mohammed Shami was omitted despite recent Vijay Hazare performances.
- Ruturaj Gaikwad missed selection despite a century in his last ODI, drawing criticism from Irfan Pathan, Ashwin and Kris Srikkanth, while Yashasvi Jaiswal stayed on as the third opener.
- Analysts framed the selections as prioritising stability and younger pace options over rewarding domestic standouts, with one report claiming Shami was not even discussed during the meeting.