India start their first assignment of 2026 with a three-match one-day international home series against New Zealand. Although with the T20 World Cup 2026 being less than a month away, the hype for the ODIs is always high, considering it remains the only chance for fans to watch Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in action in the blues of India.
Just like in T20Is, India are dynamos in 50-over cricket. The team is so set that you can name as many as ten starters in a same breath. Rohit and Kohli dominate the top order alongside captain Shubman Gill, with Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul adding firepower in the middle order. Ravindra Jadeja is the embodiment of experience, while the pace trio of Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana make up the bowling unit alongside star tweaker Kuldeep Yadav.
The only fight for a place remains for the number five spot. Two contenders are Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar. Although KL Rahul did fantastic things at that number till the ODI World Cup 2023, he has been pushed to add balance as a finisher at number six since. In this series, India don’t have Hardik Pandya or Axar Patel either. Hence, it is a great opportunity for Reddy and Sundar. But who will India bless with a chance?
Nitish Kumar Reddy deserves a chance
First, let’s talk about a player who should be groomed as a successor to Hardik Pandya. India have a dearth of fast-bowling all-rounders but Nitish Kumar Reddy fits the mould perfectly. But the Indian management hasn’t used him perfectly. He has looked undercooked in Tests but still doesn’t get to bowl when he is part of the team. In T20Is, he started with a bang but didn’t get a longer run. In ODIs, he showed promise in an away ODI series against Australia (his ODI debut) but was left out when South Africa arrived on Indian shores.
Thankfully, NKR has been toiling hard in the domestic scene all this while. In the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, his 139 runs don’t matter as much as his bowling does. In 5 innings, Nitish has bowled over 40 overs, taking 6 wickets at an economy of 5.6. He took the new ball, bowled in different phases and showed his desire to improve as a medium pacer. Yes, he lacks speed right now but the talented star is just 22 right now. He has a great action and rhythm and can learn immensely by bowling in international matches under the watch of Morne Morkel.
With no Hardik Pandya in the team, this could be a perfect opportunity for Nitish to be developed as a seam-bowling all-rounder. His batting is also tailor-made for that number five and six spot, and the lad can learn a lot from KL Rahul, whose presence is massive in India’s lower middle order.
What about Washington Sundar?
In this modern Indian team, not many can boast about being an all-format player. But Washington Sundar certainly can. He sometimes bats at number three in Tests, is part of India’s T20 World Cup 2026, and now finds himself fighting for a spot in the ODI playing XI. This is the life of Sundar, who is immensely talented but is yet to be used correctly and consistently by the Indian management.
Sundar adds value, as he is a more developed all-rounder. He can be banked more as a bowler when compared to Reddy. However, what evens the odds is the dew factor that engulfs India in the ongoing winters. Like we saw in the series against the Proteas, Sundar was ineffective in the second innings under the lights. He was sparingly used, bowling seven overs in two games, going wicketless.
However, Sundar provides a left-hand option in the middle order, something that the current head coach Gautam Gambhir likes. He could be used to break the right-hand-dominant Indian batting lineup. Also, Sundar’s off-spin adds variety to the spin department, potentially complementing the wrist spin of Kuldeep and the orthodoxy of Jadeja.
Despite all this, we feel Nitish Reddy should be the first with whom Shubman Gill starts. Alongside Harshit, NKR could be a middle-order enforcer and can be a handful if there’s a slight movement off the deck as well.
India’s Predicted Playing XI for 1st ODI vs New Zealand
Shubman Gill Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli Shreyas Iyer Nitish Kumar Reddy KL Rahul Ravindra Jadeja Harshit Rana Kuldeep Yadav Arshdeep Singh Mohammed Siraj Bench: Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), Yashasvi JaiswalNitish Kumar Reddy vs Washington Sundar: All-rounder fight for No. 5 spot in IND vs NZ 1st ODI Inside Sport India.
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