With an eye on long-term planning and workload management, the Indian team management is likely to rest key players Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand, according to a report by Cricbuzz.
The report said the move has been taken keeping major future assignments in focus, particularly the 2026 T20 World Cup. While both players are expected to miss the ODI series, they are likely to feature in the five-match T20I series against the Kiwis.
This will be India’s final T20I series ahead of the World Cup, and Bumrah and Hardik are expected to play all five matches to sharpen their preparation. Hardik has not played an ODI since the Champions Trophy final in March this year, while Bumrah last appeared in the format during the 2023 World Cup final.
At the same time, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is awaiting clarity on the availability of batter Shreyas Iyer for the latter stages of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, NDTV has reported.
MCA Secretary Unmesh Khanvilkar said discussions with the player are yet to take place. Iyer has been at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) since December 25 for further assessment as he continues his recovery from a serious spleen injury sustained during the third ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in October.
NDTV has quoted, “No, we have not spoken to Shreyas yet. But we will speak to him about his availability. As of now, there is no official confirmation on this, but it may come from him in the next few days,” Khanvilkar told IANS on Sunday.
Before reporting to the CoE in Bengaluru, IANS had earlier reported that Iyer resumed batting after restarting light gym training. He batted for nearly 30–34 minutes at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) nets in Mumbai. A source tracking his rehabilitation said that if all goes well and clearance is granted by the CoE, Iyer could feature for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches scheduled in Jaipur on January 3 and 6.
The source added that Iyer’s progress will be closely monitored by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee, which is set to meet in the first week of January to finalise the squad for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, beginning in Vadodara on January 11.
“The progress of Shreyas at the CoE has been good so far. He's targeting the last two Vijay Hazare Trophy games to return to action. It's up to selectors now to decide on his return to the ODI team,” the source said, as quoted by NDTV.
A return to the ODI setup would come as a significant boost for India as they look to firm up their plans for the 2027 World Cup. Following the series opener in Vadodara, the remaining two ODIs will be played in Rajkot and Indore on January 14 and 18, respectively.
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