Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill picked for NZ ODIs

Shreyas Iyer will make his return to India's ODI squad as the team's vice-captain for the three-match series against New Zealand. His selection is subject to receiving a fitness clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence following a spleen injury sustained in October.

India squad: 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, Yashasvi Jaiswal

*Subject to fitness clearance

Shubman Gill returns to lead the side after missing the ODI series against South Africa due to a neck injury. The return of Iyer and Gill means Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Varma have been dropped, despite both scoring centuries in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Rishabh Pant retains his spot as the second wicket-keeper behind KL Rahul, with Dhruv Jurel omitted.

The most significant absentee is Hardik Pandya, who has not been deemed fit to bowl his full quota of 10 overs by the BCCI Centre of Excellence. With the T20 World Cup starting next month, the selectors have ruled him out of this series to manage his workload.

The pace attack features Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, and Harshit Rana. The spin department will be led by Kuldeep Yadav, with all-rounders Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continue in the ODI format, with Yashasvi Jaiswal providing cover for the top order. Nitish Kumar Reddy has also been included in the 15-member squad.